Leading figures on both sides of the private rented sector have agreed that the Renters Reform Bill, along with the Government’s other changes including tax relief, are driving landlords into the short lets market.
The comments were made during a debate chaired by former Northern Ireland premier Arlene Foster (main pic, centre) between property investor Abdul-Qawiyy Kareem (main pic, right) and Freddie Poser, the Executive Director of housing campaign group PriceOut (left).
Foster, who has launched a new career presenting for TV channel GB News, pointed out that the Renters (Reform) Bill as launched last week in Parliament, has divided opinion between landlords and tenants.
Although Kareem and Poser represent opposing sides of the debate on housing reform, both agreed that the supply shortage within the sector has been created by Government policies, and that one output of this has been a move to short-term holiday lets away from long-term traditional landlording.
Poser said the Renters (Reform) Bill is not the right direction to take, and that building more homes is the only solution.
Power
“What gives landlords so much power is that renters often have very little other choice within the market locally,” he said.
Kareem argued – as many experts including Paul Shamplina and the NRLA’s Ben Beadle have done recently – that the tsunami of extra regulation about to hit landlords once the Bill gets Royal Assent is likely to reduce not increase supply.
Those landlords are likely, as has already been seen, to move into areas where regulation and tax and lower – namely the short-let or ‘holiday let’ market created by platforms like Airbnb.
“Because traditional landlords cannot claim their mortgages interest against tax following the 2015 ‘Section 24’ changes, many are looking at short-let markets like serviced accommodation and holiday lets,” said Kareem.
“It seems the Government is trying to drive a wedge between landlords and the traditional lettings market, when it should be working with them to increase supply.”
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