25th
Feb 2013
There is frustratingly, an ever increasing number of stories “landlord bashing” with big headlines using ‘Rogue’ within the caption. It is not seen as unfair by the press and certain political parties to “bang this drum” as it sells newspapers and woos voters. But what about the high majority of good landlords ?
You don’t see this being discussed in parliament or in the papers. By concentrating on the small minority, it is downright insulting to hard working people who wish to improve their lives by entering into the property market. We do this to make sure of always having an income, paying our way in Society, providing for our families and to make sure of having a decent pension for retirement. This begs the simple question -Who is more likely to be a drain on society finances Tenants or Landlords, and who will need more assistance in their retirement?
The government and councils should welcome Landlords who respect the regulations and offer a good code of practice. Instead we see ever increasing sets of rules, regulations and fees being introduced across the country. So in return shouldn’t good landlords be rewarded by tax breaks and rolling over capital gains to inspire more investment?
- Well the answer is ‘Yes of course it should be so !’ The truth is the government supports TAX breaks for corporates, pension funds who are interested in capital projects such as build to let.
So why isn’t our sector being properly recognised and respected by the government instead of being treated as a ‘cash cow’ constantly in need of over legislating and being squeezed for fees such as Licencing, CGT etc.
Where is the support for landlords who are in danger of losing their properties because of “Rent Career Criminals”?
Some tenants know all of the loopholes and flagrantly break the law time and time again. Tenants can trash properties or make false claims designed to abuse the legal aid so they can try and gain compensation for fictitious claims. Suddenly these Tenants are the innocent victims of “Rogue Landlords” .We however, are not afraid to say that these are corrupt individuals who know how to flout the law and rip off innocent landlords
All tenants have Shelter, Tenant Relations Officers, Legal Aid and civil procedures.
What and who are on the Landlords side when;
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MPs and political parties interested in aligning themselves to the majority (Tenants) in the hope they win votes to be elected.
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Councils who happily tell Tenants to stay put becuase it is cheaper to leave the problem with the Landlord than the council housing them
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A judicial process that laughingly calls a five month eviction process "accelerated possession"
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Police - who call everything a civil matter unless the Tenant claims the landlord does something then it’s called harassing our Tenants.
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Landlord Associations who do little but posture.
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Go into a Bank and steal £2000+ it’s theft and a prison term, rent a property and deliberately don’t pay the rent and it’s called civil rights and of course is seen as an entitlement.
WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD ?
The lettings market is highly fragmented and there is no pressure one can apply unless a unified strategy is in place - we cannot go on strike, we cannot refuse to let our properties as it is financial suicide (The councils even have the right to invoke management orders on empty properties so we can’t leave properties empty)
Sadly it is very much a case of self- preservation, as in all walks of life there are good and bad people and Repossessions and Evictions stats show that there is something in the region of 140,000 dubious tenants [many are "rogues"] out there.
Vetting Checking | HELP MY Tenant in Rent Arrears |
WHAT IF I GET A ROGUE TENANT?
If you do get a bad Tenant - be a realist there is no magic cure, don’t bury your head in the sand – as when you deal with it there will be a learning curve that will make you more experienced if there is a next time.
Also remember if you’re a Full member you can use our Tenant Eviction section and more importantly use our Helpline 7 days a week
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