Would you support a BIG second home tax?

It is their home, it s not their house. I know enougj families that have to move away from their kids schools, work etc because their landlord wants to sell up or puts the rent up by more than they can afford. On the continent you expect to rent a house long term..

 

That is true and the property market is very much a boom, bust model. There is a recession every 18 years. In the 4-5 years before the recession there is a large boom phase with everyone jumping on the gravy train. Then it goes bust. The last recession was 2008... 1990 before that. So definitely super heated at the moment.

In Barnsley you can buy a 3 bed terrace for under £100k. There are 5% deposits, so you'd hope most young couples with their heads screwed on could get that together.

 

But we have a system whereby a rich foreign investor can purchase or build luxury flats and leave them empty with ghost residents as their investment is in the actual buildings and not the rent revenue .
I’m other words their investment is giving dividends in the London bubble by property alone and not necessarily with residents and theirs evidence of large dockland property’s lying empty . Possible money laundering is also taking place .

 

Well said

 

But there are a lot of places where prices are a lot more. And so then investors will move north and prices will start rising here.

 

We live in a regulated capitalist society so have the choice to dictate what investments are worthwhile. Foreign investment might be great for the UK economy but that is little consolation for the average person trying to get their own home. Families working their entire life to pay off an enormous mortgage can take heart that the economy is doing well. They cannot afford to do anything but pay off that mortgage. Huzzah for foreign investment!

 

So to flip it around. A builder has worked his whole life, looking at retirement on the state pension. He's been wise, saved up a little and invested a lot of spare time in doing up the property. It's now retirement time and he needs to sell to lead the retirement he wants. Why shouldn't he be able to sell the property he brought and invested money, time and labour into?

I appreciate that is not always great news for a tenant, but the owner must also have rights.

The only way out of this cycle is a huge investment by the government in council houses, as you have in Austria. I think that would be amazing, guaranteeing everyone a certain standard of living. I'd be happy to see everyone taxed higher, not just landlords, to make it a reality, but sadly can't see it happening.

 

I did say 'by and large'! Obviously there will be good examples and some bad.

 

Suppose that works both ways i know landlords who have had there properties turned into cannabis farms, had poor payers in and struggled to get them out and ended up out of pocket by thousands. Alot of the time people renting properties are the self employed working class builder, barber, sparky etc who are doing it for a pension. There not making lucrative amounts.

 

Also, during the last 18 months these “ bad tenants” took total advantage of the re-possession restrictions in that they stopped paying !
There are also “good tenants” who genuinely have been struggling so I’m only trying to point out that there are two sides to every conflict.

 

Any business needs to factor in losses though. No doubt there are tenants who trash properties and don't pay rent but there are way more living in disgusting conditions and paying a lot for the privilege!

 

So if you inherit a leasehold flat, you have no option but to rent it out. You therefore end up having a second house, but with no other option but to sublet and end up being caught in the OP's suggestion.

However, if you inherit a freehold house, you can sell and make a small fortune. It's the next generation inheriting houses that will create an ever widening property ownership wealth gap.

 

You can sell a leasehold flat.

 

Why can’t you sell a leasehold flat ?

 

Not for very much, it's a depreciating asset. Plus, if less than 60 years left, the buyer would be unable to get a mortgage.

 

So you pay to extend the leasehold and then sell.There are usually options.

 

Most landlords do the absolute minimum to maintain a property - it needs much stricter regulation and use letting agencies that again are a convenient middle man to negate having to do anything other than collect the rent and withhold money for basically any reason which you end up having to dispute just to get your deposit back. Most people who rent end up paying more than mortgaging a property but are stuck because they can’t save for a deposit on a house.

Not a fan of landlords can you tell.

 

Sorry Helen, you beat me to it

 

2nd home tax sounds attractive, but extra tax on income from rental property would just increase rent, which in turn drives house price inflation.

It’s a very tricky market to engineer a change in that works for the people that need it.

 

The owner would want 50% of the increased value as part of that lease extension, so not a great option really.

With respect, I think you are missing the point in any case. Some people inherit a nice £200k house, others inherit leasehold flats that they have to pay to extend the lease or sell for a tiny sum. Life's not fair I know, but it's this that will lead to a wider property gap for the next generation.