As a property fox you can probably guess that I’m not a fan of hunting, so take a rather dim view of the government’s latest hunt, apparently designed to cull the number of private landlords.

The Renter’s Reform Bill which recently started its passage through parliament is our political classes latest attempt via legislation to unpick the various unforeseen circumstances of previous governments poorly constructed, “progressive” legislation whilst adding to the ever-increasing compliance burden on the private rented sector.

There can be only one reason for this, which is simply that they hate landlords, or at least small private landlords, who they struggle to tax, register and regulate.

It must be said that this is a rather surprising statement to make of the party which was once proudly the party of the property owning class, the party of Thatcher and the Right to Buy.

Nevertheless, since Cameron this conservative government has proven that it has no love for the private landlord.

In 2016 they implemented the 3% SDLT on all homeowners who already owned a home, why? To restrict the number of 2nd home owners in the U.K.

In 2018 they introduced the MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard) the burden that any rented home should have an EPC rating no lower than E, costing landlords up to £3,500 per home in the process.

In 2019 they implemented the tenant fee ban placing the burden of inventory checks and other such charges on the landlords.
 
In 2020 they phased out the tax benefits of being able to write off your mortgage interest against your income, or in other words your costs against your income, unlike every other business. And at the same time determined that all rented homes must have a valid EICR certificate…

And now this!
 
The Conservatives have lost their way, they have succumbed to the Blairite ideals of the late 1990’s in a bid to appear as the party of the renting classes. A class of late which includes the “do what I want when I want” generation, a poisonous mix of the demanding and the lazy who are often beyond reason and a particular nonchalance towards voting, in particular voting for Tories!
 
Instead they would do well to remember that their voter base is anchored in pensioners, homeowners and those who aspire towards home ownership, rather than being dazzled by the Shelter lobbyists who have taken up residence in No10 since May’s tenure and who exert a disproportionate influence via the generation rent SPADs (special advisors) who again would be unlikely to vote Tory if it wasn’t for the fact that they were employed by them.
 
But what can be done? Very little it would appear… I would say you should vote them out? But then, this is a publication whose readership is primarily London based and so, at least in theory, rather impartial to a Labour vote already, and even if you do happen to be a Tory voter, there’s the Renter’s Reform Bill, or there’s the deeply ineffectual Kier Starmer… so it’s a battle of two evils, and I must concede that Beelzebub and his 4 horsemen are nothing compared to 5 years of Starmer, Rayner and the Unions.

So we must look to our professional advisors, to provide solutions and practical advice to guide us skilfully through the myriad of happy clappy, “can’t we all just get along” legislation which diminishes in its entirely the rights of the home owner. My home is my castle, unless I decide to rent it, I which case it’ increasingly feels like a mill stone, albeit one which has the ability to generate a substantial return… in the right circumstances.