Mar

BUDGET 2020: Landlords expecting announcements on tenancy length, HMO regulation and landlord licensing

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s first Budget is due on Tuesday and a poll of nearly 800 landlords reveals what they expect him to reveal either then or later this year.

Most landlords are braced for a
shake-up of the private rented sector this year, believing that they face the
introduction of minimum tenancy terms, more regulations around HMOs and
individual licensing of landlords.

In the run-up to the Budget, Foundation
Home Loans says most landlords (70%) anticipate further Government intervention
during 2020.

Of those, 73% believe it is this
will probably mean the introduction of minimum tenancy terms, while the same
number think action is likely in the HMO and multi-unit block sector.

Meanwhile, 72% reckon individual
licensing for all landlords and their properties is likely, while 38% can
envisage a rental cap for private rental properties being introduced.

In an online survey of 791 landlords,
it found the issue of abolishing Section 21 evictions was a major concern with
53% saying they would feel much less confident about their portfolios if this
was introduced, 34% would be unlikely to buy any further properties, 33% would
consider exiting the sector, and 31% would consider reducing the size of their
portfolios.

Jeff
Knight, director of marketing at Foundation Home Loans, says: “There’s definitely a degree of uncertainty around what
might be coming next. Landlords appear to be bracing themselves for a Budget
which may not be in their favour, rather than one which seeks to roll back on
the measures which have undoubtedly impacted on their profitability over the
last few years.”

Despite this, the poll found landlords
the most upbeat they’ve been in over a year, with 25% reporting tenant demand
had increased from the last quarter (up 3%), with those landlords with 11-plus
properties particularly positive about rental yields. Read more
about HMOs.

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