David Hannah – Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax – comments on how the current landscape isn’t working for tenants and landlords alike
Exclusive data from Cornerstone Tax has revealed that 24% of London renters have been forced to move rental properties over five times in less than five years through no fault of their own. This news comes amidst repeated delays to the Renters Reform Bill. The legislation, proposed in the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto, contains plans to ban “no-fault” evictions, with hopes of making the rental market a safer place for tenants.
Adding to the slew of issues in the capital’s rental market, costs are also soaring due to a severe lack of stock. As demand continues to outstrip supply, 25% of London renters have said that they have lost out on a property in the last two years due to a bidding war. David Hannah – Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax – asserts that this news demonstrates further signs that London’s rental market is no longer fit for purpose and in dire need of legislative reform.
However, David also asserts that any new legislation should address the challenges that London landlords currently face within the market. These same soaring costs that have pushed out renters have also discouraged landlords from participating in the market, with 37% of the city’s landlords considering selling up due to rising costs, according to Cornerstone’s data. Further figures illustrate a grim picture of the landlord experience, with 31% of London landlords admitting that their biggest mental health strain is managing their tenants. Shockingly, another 30% say that they became a landlord without the sufficient knowledge and lost thousands as a result.
Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, David Hannah, discusses the need for reform in the capital’s rental market:
“The government must take immediate action and abolish no fault evictions as soon as possible, for too long a small minority of rogue landlords have sought to exploit loopholes like this at the expense of their tenants.
“The capital’s rental market must work for tenants and landlords alike and address the current problems of undersupply and soaring costs.
“Our research shows that 37% of landlords in the capital are considering selling up due to rising costs which would have a catastrophic impact on the rental sector, pushing prices up even further.
“This legislation should therefore be accompanied by a host of fair and balanced improvements to the wider system, which ensure that becoming a landlord remains an attractive proposition in the UK.
“This could involve streamlining the eviction procedure for landlords that genuinely have to deal with troublesome tenants.