I suppose you have heard all the news about the English government thinking about introducing a licensing system.
I fully know what it is like to be a landlord under this system as you need a licence in Scotland.
Now I am not sure if this is the purpose of the licence but this is what it does to you:
IT PUTS THE WIND UP YOU!
I am not sure if that is a saying or not but basically if puts a hell a lot of power to the council because they can revoke your licence and pretty much put you out of business.
Now there have no landlords in Scotland that have lost their licence as of yet but knowing an individual backed by a committee can put you out of business is kind of scary.
So when you have a tenant threatening to go to the council because the light bulb has blown in their spare room and you have not replaced it within 24 hours and the property is dark and their kid could trip over and hurt themselves and YOU as the LANDLORD is responsible – you kind of jump to action!
If you do not you are putting yourself at the mercy of the licensing committee. This is no place for a landlord! Especially if you derive your living from it.
I may be a bit soft in this regard as I know of other landlords who simply ignore silly requests but I am not so bold.
So what do I think of licensing for English properties? I think it is a bad idea. If a landlord is a bad landlord they can use the law to come after him or her. They do not need a licensing system to prevent bad landlords practising.
The reason is bad landlords will still carry on renting properties! They will just use other names, hide behind companies, flout the law etc.
I really hope they do not introduce this. It will mean extra paperwork and not really achieve what it is supposed to set out and do which is prevent poor accommodation for tenants.
However it will raise cash for the government along with the new 50% tax rate. Is it me or do they just dislike people who want to do well for themselves? I am not a political person but it just seems we are getting squeezed more and more. It is not a problem (more a hinderence) for determined people like me and hopefully you but it does leave you scratching your head and thinking is this for real?
Anyway if they do introduce the licensing system it does pave the way for serious people who want to make money from property. So does it put you off? I hope not.
Here is to a good summer of buying BMV properties everywhere in the UK!
Ajay
Posted on: 8th May 2009
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