The Government has given its backing to longer tenancies, and also to technology to get rental payments recognised on credit records and in mortgage applications.
The Budget included announcements of a consultation that will look at barriers to landlords offering longer and more secure tenancies.
The Chancellor’s red book also included mention of a £2m competition to support financial technology firms developing solutions that help first-time buyers ensure their history of meeting rental payments on time is recognised in their credit scores and mortgage applications.
The Budget document said: “Mortgage lenders and credit reference agencies are often unable to take rental payment history into account as they do not have access to this data. This competition will support firms to solve this problem.”
David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, welcomed support for new technology but was unhappy at the prospect of yet more consultations.
He said: “With ever-growing numbers of families with children in private rented housing, we recognise their needs for longer tenancies.
“The Budget could have acted on proposals we have made by providing tax relief for landlords prepared to offer longer tenancies and taking action against mortgage lenders who block them being granted.
“Instead we have yet another consultation adding to the 15 already ongoing which relate to the private rented sector.
“Tenants cannot live in consultations.”
Comments (7)
Goodness me! So let me clarify this from someone who actually knows what is going on in this industry. In letting thousands of properties the majority of landlords want the security of longer term tenancies and Tenants are the ones that want flexibility of shorter terms. There are reasons why longer tenancies don’t always go to fruition most commonly.
1) tenants job changes
2) tenant needs to upsize
3) tenant has arrears
4) tenants feel property is in disrepair and wants to leave.
5) landlords circumstances change needing to sell (landlord taxation the most common)
long term tenancies do nothing but serve the governments agenda again.
When the 1988 act was created for AST’s are they now going back on that decision??? Shall we go back to protected tenancies? I’m sorry sir we can’t evict your tenant because they aren’t in breach, doesn’t matter that you are losing hundreds a year because you can no longer offset the interest as as tax deductible. You’re just going to have to haemorrhage money until you go into financial hardship.
I have an idea, allow people to continue with what they would like to do as an AST allows flexibility.
or go backwards with the housing market and expect it to improve!
A landlord should be able to decide how long they rent their property out for. This constant obsession with the Government and long term lets for the benefit of the tenant will never go anywhere. If someone doesn’t want a long term let, they won’t sign one. It might not be convenient to them as a result of mortgage restrictions, plans to sell, plans to move back in, the “unknown” of whether the tenant is a good one, so a basic desire to find out first without commitment to a huge tenancy period, etc. Just let people do that they want to do with their own property!
Or, as one agent told me, let it out for as short a term as possible so you can get as much fee income as possible…
They (any political party) will now do anything to help them get out of the housing mess THEY created for decades. This is the state taking over the running of a private sector.
This is great news. Interestingly, the solution already exists. CreditLadder have already helped thousands of tenants to report their rental payments to Experian.
If you are interested in helping reduce arrears across your managed portfolio, whilst helping tenants in the process, please contact us via our website http://www.creditladder.co.uk to arrange a meeting.
no
Makes no odds. The Government consultations are merely lip service and they do what they were going to anyway.