TENANT BLOG: What I think of the Government’s looming renting reforms

If you haven’t heard of it before, the Renters’ Reform Bill is set to be voted on before May 2023, bringing with it a plethora of proposed changes for landlords and tenants alike.

Shelter, who along with other organisations are campaigning for a fairer deal for tenants, believes that they deserve greater long-term security. Among this list of changes is:

• The abolishment of the Section 21 Notice.
• The formation of a property ombudsman.
• A ‘decent homes’ standard.
• Mandatory registration for Landlords.
• Double the required notice period for rental increases.

My question is…

Why wouldn’t a tenant who follows the rules and pays rent on time feel secure in their own home? Surely landlords aren’t booting out suitable tenants for no good reason?

What about those that are consistently late with rental payments? Those that breach their tenancy agreements?

It’s pretty time consuming and expensive enough to take non-paying tenants to court as it is.

To me, it feels like the last thing the PRS needs is more red tape that affords terrible tenants flexibility that they don’t entirely deserve.

Everybody deserves security in their own home, don’t get me wrong. But what about landlords?

Who’s looking out for their income and livelihood that is ultimately affected by the minority of tenants who just don’t want to play fair?

Thrashing

Over the last few years, landlords have taken a thrashing. Heavy legislative changes have been introduced and it’s getting to the point where a lot of smaller landlords are selling up because:

1. They don’t have the time nor energy to keep up with the consistent turning tide.
2. The passion they once had for property has dwindled.
3. It’s got to a point where their investment is no longer a sensible one.

To me, it’s odd. As a tenant myself and someone who works in the property industry, most landlords I talk to operate by the book.

I find it odd that various third parties like to paint a picture of monstrous, margherita-sipping, beach-dwelling landlords when it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Being a landlord isn’t always passive income for little to no work. If you take property seriously (a very large portion do) then you’ll find that renting out a property can be strenuous at best.

Many landlords I have spoken to have had sleepless nights from non-paying tenants and some have even experienced total devastation at the hands of reckless tenants, with their properties being trashed with little to no support from local authorities or the government.

If you’re reading this and are already at wits end. Hang in there.

Landlords have a fantastic network of support such as work that’s being carried about by organisations like LandlordZONE, who we’re proud to be exclusively partnered with because of the fantastic stuff the team do.

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn here or follow Alphaletz by subscribing to our newsletter in just a couple of clicks.

Part and parcel of what I do in the property industry is I aim to make the lives of landlords easier, not just with introducing technology to their day to day processes, but by giving out content that might help with tenant referencing, inventories and inspections.

Author bio

Connor (main picture, inset) is an experienced marketing executive within the property industry, working predominantly with property management software. He currently works with Alphaletz and interacts with plenty of landlords, helping them make life easier with the assistance of technology. All views here are his own.