‘Landlords in need of States support’
THE States has been warned that it must do something to reverse the current view that private landlords are providing a sub-standard product, abuse and take advantage of their tenants, and are only in it for the money – if it wants a vibrant and thriving private rental sector.
At the AGM at Les Cotils, Guernsey Residential Private Landlords Association chairman Jeff Guilbert said that the private sector has had no encouragement from government in the last 10 years and he was concerned about landlords leaving the industry.
‘The majority of landlords offer a good standard of accommodation and need to be encouraged to stay in the industry,’ he said.
‘Yes, we are a business and like all businesses we need to make a profit.
‘We also need some incentives to retain the current landlords and hopefully encourage new investors into the industry. Should the private sector receive such help, then hopefully it will begin to thrive and expand within the private rental market in the same way that social housing has over the last 10 years.’
The association has 342 members, who between them operate 2,421 rental properties – more than a third of the island’s private rental stock.
Mr Guilbert said the list of disincentives for private landlords was 'staggering'. including a reduction in statutory repairs allowance, above-inflation TRP increases, phasing out landlords' mortgage tax relief, an extra 2% document duty on all second property purchases, and additional red tape due to changes in population law and new data protection and discrimination laws.
He also pointed to outside factors deterring landlords from investing, including increasing property prices, mortgage rises and the chance to sell properties while property prices were buoyant.
‘We now await the final draft of the new General Housing Law and its implications for new and higher standards for rented accommodation,’ he said,
‘All we request is a fair environment to be able to operate a successful business and ask for a rebalancing of the disparity in help and incentives that is offered to the social housing sector but denied to the private sector.’
‘Since the introduction of zero-10 the majority of local companies have not paid any income tax. Landlords have and continue to be taxed at 20%.’
