News from the Residential Property Investor, the bi-monthly magazine for RLA members other artilces from the December 2001 / January 2002 issue RPI news archive

Evicting the 'Rigsby' image - December 2001 / January 2002

It is time for good landlords to stand up and be counted by being rewarded for their high standards, says RLA chairman Martin Moylan, explaining the reasoning behind its new landlord accreditation scheme.

From Rigsby to Rachman, our industry, residential property investment and management, has been plagued by bad press. We are always referred to as ‘bad’, ‘rogue’ or ‘slum’ landlords. Commentators, in moments of generosity, often acknowledge that there are ‘some good landlords’, implying that they are as rare as slates on a thatched roof.

There are many reasons for this bad press, most of which have nothing to do with the quality of management and property in private renting. We have been given a negative image because it suited the vested interests of politicians, social housing providers, charities for tenants and the homeless. We have been a soft touch, because we have not had a representative organisation to counter or promote the benefits of private renting.

The onslaught on private renting has been ideologically driven by the mantra that public owner ship is good, private ownership is bad, and investing with a view to making a return (making a profit) is also bad.

This has been promoted by the public housing lobby. To get billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into subsidised housing, it was necessary to have a scapegoat. The scapegoat was the private landlord. By constantly pointing to a demonised private landlord, it is easy to raid the public purse continually.

Politicians make easy political capital out of this negative image. While attacking landlords and residential investors, they can be seen to be concerned about housing. Because there was no effective voice for landlords, inaccurate comments went unchecked.

Demonising private landlords has been extremely beneficial to all except landlords and tenants. The poor image wrongly attributed to private residential investment has had far reaching connotations for the industry. A negative image leads to a negative response.

This has manifested itself in:

• poor tenancy performance (why should tenants behave for bad landlords?);
• biased legislation and regulation (such as that concerning possession and housing benefit);
• legislative and regulatory overkill (more than 58 Acts of Parliament have the potential to affect the business of letting);
• inconsistent enforcement at best, and anti-landlord enforcement at worst, against private renting, in many cases driven by local prejudice;
• biased court decisions (recently a judge in a possession case said that he did not believe that the tenant should pay for cleaning the vacated apartment as that was wear and tear);
• few fiscal opportunities (no capital gains tax rollover or pension contributions allowances - residential renting is not treated as a business by the Inland Revenue).

Housing academics who claim tenants need a stake in their housing to make strong economic choices should look at the other side of the equation. When housing management is divorced from ownership, the result is incompetent and unfit management.

Other organisations that purport to represent the industry have failed to grasp the importance of image to our industry. Despite all its campaigning, the British Property Federation has never addressed the central need to change the hearts and minds of the people. If achieved, politicians will follow.

The National Federation of Residential Landlords has expended its time and money on contesting legal challenges.

Local voluntary landlord associations have generally concerned themselves with providing help and support to their members and do not have the resources to counter the negative image.

Though much valiant effort has been expended in the cause of private renting representation, the majority of it is voluntary and has had little impact.

Britain is a nation of investors. Of the 18m, as many as 12m invest in stocks and shares. Some of this money is ploughed into companies about which many have concerns over such matters as child exploitation, pollution, and moving employment to regions with no employment protection.

An estimated 700,000 of the 18m investors are residential property investors. By contrast, they invest in housing, one of the primary needs of man. They invest in Britain. They create employment. This investment relieves the burden on the public purse and taxation. Private investors provide a variety of accommodation not available December 2001/January 2002 elsewhere: shared accommodation for the young who wish to live the ‘Friends’ lifestyle: short to medium accommodation: furnished accommodation: bedsit accommodation where single residents can enjoy privacy but also avoid social isolation.

Martin Moylan, RLA Chairman

Residential property investors support house price stability by taking up the slack. We provide diversity and choice and respond rapidly to demand. We allow free and easy movement to areas where people want and need to be for jobs. We make a valuable contribution to the social, economic and cultural fabric of our society. Residential property investment is the ethical investment.

To change its negative image we need to remind people effectively of these benefits through positive public relations and by identifying good landlords.

The Residential Landlords Association has started addressing both of these issues in 2001. We have commenced a media campaign aimed at presenting a positive image of our industry. We have supported this with research into market rents and housing benefit, and by introducing innovative products and services such as our tenancy agreement, which has the Plain English Campaign Crystal Mark, and the rla.org.uk Forum.

We have had phenomenal success including TV and radio appearances and enormous press coverage. This has been achieved on a minimal budget.

It is also necessary to demonstrate that residential investors provide a decent level of management and property. It will always be the case that a small number of such investors will not reach a minimum standard. Therefore, we need to segregate the good landlords from the rest.

The Residential Landlords Association’s approach is to introduce an accreditation scheme for landlords that delivers a minimum standard of management and property. The scheme is aimed at assuring the tenant that the accredited landlord will behave in a professional manner with regard to letting, managing and ending the tenancy including inventory, deposit and response to requests for repairs.

There are other stakeholders in our industry, and we have addressed their concerns. Property investors generally invest in the wider community and we have a responsibility to the community to try not to let property to ‘tenants from hell’ who can decimate an rea. Hence, we will require Accredited Landlords to take up character references on all tenants. We will also require that landlords instruct tenants on their responsibilities to the wider community.

It is time for good landlords to stand up and be counted by being rewarded for being a better landlord and getting accredited. Many landlords are already providing high levels of management and property. Indeed, the best rented property is in the private sector. We should be proud that we are housing providers.

We are currently facing increased council tax, stamp duty, buying and selling costs, licensing, reduced housing benefit, more difficult housing benefit administration, sprinkler systems to houses in multiple occupation, increases in investment due to Fitness Rating, increased tenant protections due to European unfair conditions legislation, and much more.

If we are to have an influence on this barrage of anti-landlord legislation and regulation, we must be proactive and continue to present the benefits of a dynamic private rented sector and ensure that we deliver a decent standard of management and property through accreditation.
 

other artilces from the December 2001 / January 2002 issue

• 'Joined up' thinking overdue
• RLA launches assurance schemes
• Jail term for landlord who raped tenant
• Electronic gas certificates
• Byers promotes limited licensing
• 'Cancer risk' with roofing felt
• Government changes law to reverse court benefits loss
• Deprived areas have stamp duty 'abolished'
• Reader win rates refund
• In brief
• Evicting the 'Rigsby' image