News from Manor Lettings
7 April 2010: Mandatory landlord licensing now in force
It‘s now official. The whole of the UK has now adopted mandatory licensing of landlords. Scotland already had mandatory licensing in place, England & Wales adopted the scheme on 3 Feb and Northern Ireland just recently implemented theirs on 24 March.
But what does this mean for landlords? Well, for some it will be seen as a way of rooting out and distinguishing themselves from ‘rogue‘ landlords operating. However, for the majority of the others it will be perceived as yet another potential regulatory cost, another hurdle to jump and another form of stealth tax? Together with planning consent required on change-of-use to HMO coming into effect on 6 April it‘s no wonder some landlords are maybe feeling unfairly treated by the Government.
What‘s more surprising is that with the Private Rented Sector (PRS) accounting for 13% of the total housing market in the UK (over 2.5 million homes are privately rented), and the supply of new homes lagging demand, you would think the Govt be keen to promote the growth of PRS.
We have already seen with the budget announcement the removal of stamp duty on purchases up to £250,000 but this will only benefit first-time buyers. There have been a number of other recommendations made (see ARLA link below) with the aim of encouraging the Govt to view landlords as businesses offering taxation incentives to promote reinvestment into PRS. However, it remains to be seen whether any of these changes will be implemented. So far the Conservative Party, if elected, have pledged to review the Private Rented Sector to examine how the sector can play an enhanced role in the housing market.
Whichever Govt is in power after the election they will need to recognise the importance of PRS sector and look at ways of promoting its growth similar to incentives used today to encourage purchase lending and affordability.
For further information please visit the following articles;
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/1229922.pdfhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/prsconsultresponse
http://www.arla.co.uk/events/news_details.aspx?id=131
http://www.netrent.co.uk
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