Labour and Lib Dems wage war on homeowners

Landlords must have thought things couldn’t get any worse after years of attacks from the Conservatives – and then Britain’s rival parties unveiled a series of plans to strike fear into the hearts of all property investors.

This week Labour unveiled a manifesto that committed it to rent controls and licensing for landlords. The party said: “More than 11 million people rent from a private landlord and many of them are at the sharp end of the housing crisis.”

Jeremy Corbyn’s party has promised to cap any rent rises in line with inflation and give cities powers to introduce additional, tougher controls.

Labour also said it would bring in open-ended tenancies that would allow evictions only for specific reasons, such as not paying rent or damaging the home.

However, experts warned these anti-landlord measures would backfire on the renters they aim to protect. David Smith of the Residential Landlords Association said: “Labour’s plans would hurt tenants. It wants longer tenancies yet is proposing nothing to encourage and support good landlords to stay in the market long term.

“Its plans for rent controls linked to inflation are also nonsense.”

Labour would bring in a licensing scheme for landlords, with “tougher sanctions” for breaking the rules. It also wants to penalise holiday home owners by introducing a levy on these properties, which it estimates will raise £560m a year.

The Liberal Democrats’ manifesto contains similarly draconian policies. The party backs longer tenancies of three years or more, compared with the current standard 12 months, and has pledged to “improve protections against rogue landlords through mandatory licensing”.

Mr Smith said the scheme would not work. “The crooks will simply not come forward, leaving the good landlords to pick up the tab,” he said. the natural home of landlords, has said it will end Section 21 orders, which allow landlords to evict a tenant for any reason within two months, in a move that might penalise property professionals.

This follows a string of buyto-let reforms introduced by the Conservatives that have made it less profitable to be a landlord.

To soften the blow, the Tories will broaden the scope of Section 8 orders, currently little used because they involve a lengthy court process to evict tenants.

A Conservative statement said: “We are also committed to simplifying, and thereby speeding up, the court processes for landlords to take possession of their property when necessary. Non-payment of rent, or antisocial behaviour, would be grounds for repossession.”

Opposition parties vying for power intend to penalise property investors, writes Sam Barker ‘Labour’s plans would hurt tenants. Its rent controls linked to inflation are nonsense’