House price slump: impact on renters

Whilst mortgage slaves are now stuck with much higher interest burdens if the Bank Of England starts to do it's anti-inflation job properly, over the last 2.5 years my rent went up by 2.1% p.a.!

Elaine. Landlords selling up will depress the market further making it more affordable for ordinary people without such wealth. Take the rough with the smooth, grow up, don't moan or crow about it (sic).

The purchase of a property is a significant outlay and so landlords naturally oppose any legislation that would jeopodize that investment; before 1987 and the introduction of the ASL one would have had to be either insane or a thug, ready to trample the law, to rent out property and any move that moves the law backwards will reduce the number of landlords overall and increase the number of landlords willing to employ more aggresive tactics, and sometimes illegal methods, to protect their investments. There are good landlords and there are bad - tenants need to vote with their feet. Personally, I have always felt that the goal of any business is to perform a social function, not just to make money; that of the landlord to provide houses to those who either can not afford to buy or choose not to. These maybe my houses but they are the tenants homes and if tenants are treated with respect, they will reward the landlord with long occupation and good upkeep. Unfortunatly, just as there are bad landlords, there are also bad tenants, and thse can destroy a building and destroy the Landlord - prior to 1987, it was not unknown for tenants to black-mail their Landlords. A law based on mutual agreement ( a 12 month Lease is a 12 month, not a protected and open ended term ) and a relationship based on mutual respect is best. Rent the house for 10 % less than market, take care of the minor problems and most tenants will give you a secure cash flow and well maintained property.

This legislation has been created for a reason - because in previous conditions, the tenant has been left vulnerable, and whilst I agree that their are those landlords that are straight-up and honest, there are still those that aren't!
I have been stung in the past by such a landlord and am more than happy and releived that the new regulations, in relation to holding deposits, are now in place. I mean if you are a straight-up landlord, then where's the problem?

I rent and my issue is when landlords drag there feet to bring their properties upto standard. Ie central heating that was built with the house but is now an expensive pastime for the tennant... These changes are to help us all, tennant and enviroment alike. I am sure that my landlord will recoup any cost to himself via his tennant. And tennants need to see more than the cost of the rental they need to see running cost. You would not buy a car without this sort or information! I like others cannot afford tobuy in this current market so i want the best i can get for my GBP. My landlord owns a lot of properties but keeping them in good repair a low priority, somewhere someone has to carry the cost...... Landlord? I am not so sure they will!

i have just started to live in private rented property and after living at my present address for 6 months have decided not to renew my lease, but to move on. i am having extreme difficulty in trying to find another affordable property in an area of my choosing. i am also aware that it is becoming more difficult for landlords to rent out because of new legislations that they have to meet. but where does that leave people like myself who cannot afford to buy, cannot get on any council housing list and whose only option is to rent private property at a certain cost.

As a widow I rent out a room in the house in which I live. So far the Gov seems to understand that conditions for lodgers will not be worse than my own. If they start interfering and expecting bells & whistles in addition to a clean warm room with own en suite facilities the housing shortage here will swiftly increase by one desirable room. Hope common sense will prevail.

My local rental market is heavily oversupplied with many rental properties sitting empty. In many cases it is now cheaper to rent nice 2-3 bed houses than flats. I have also noticed that many of the new rentals are being offered with an Energy Performance Certificate; these are not required by law on rental properties until October. So I can only guese that the incumbent landlords are now having to compete with homowners who have failed to sell (hence the EPC) and have decide to rent out their house instead. I would not like to be a BTL right now, because it looks like they are traped between rising mortgage payments and falling rental returns.

Looks like the Government has finally realised that they can enjoy a little Landlord bashing, I think that it will prove popular. After all, Landlords do nothing for their money - do they? I pride myself on being a model Landlord, but it seems that I'll be driven out of business before long. I'll probably make way for the less compassionate & tougher Landlord. Good luck everybody, we're going to need it.

We've certainly not noticed rising rents in our area, rental properties often seem to sit empty for months at a time if not longer and this makes landlords more open to accepting what they can get. I currently house share with 4 other people and currently we rent at £150 a month lower (roughly 15%) than the original advertised price just because we made an offer and then negotiated, if your a renter and looking to move I strongly suggest you try the same thing, after all what have you got to loose? Don't just accept a given price because you can't be bothered or feel awkward about it, you could be throwing good money away every month!

The EPC will, as in HIPs, be a total waste of time and money. What tenant is going to refuse to take a property because of the information given by the EPC, as opposed to just using their eyes and common sense? What landlord is going to add insulation just because of the EPC, as opposed to their normal programme of improvements? It's sheer stupidity.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme and HMO Registration are two more completely ludicrous pieces of regulation, penalising the vast majority of landlords to punish a few rogues who will try to get round the law anyway, and could already be caught by existing legislation. I've let houses to groups of sharers for ten years with no problems, but I've now got out of HMOs because I don't want some fascist in the environmental health department telling me I have to change all the doors or fit fire protection measures defined by their model house plans that take no account of the practical house in front of them or its future potential re-use as a family home. Eventually larger houseshares will go the way of bedsits and become a rare commodity, regulated out of existence, reducing supply of shared units and pushing up rents for everyone.