According to the Telegraph, landlords across the UK feel that local authorities are persecuting them by applying a long list of charges, which makes it harder for small landlords to operate a profitable buy to let business.
Landlords are ‘Cash Cows’
The Residential Landlords Association happens to agree with this point of view. Alan Ward, chairman of the RLA, describes the charges as a ‘creeping plague’. He thinks that increasing costs are making buy to let less viable to new landlords, which in the long term could be disastrous for Britain’s housing situation. The National Landlords Association (NLA) is not happy either. In fact the NLA is considering taking action against several local authorities because they are so concerned about the rising cost of being a private landlord in the UK.
Costs Vary in Different Areas
The problem that landlords have with these so-called ‘stealth taxes’ is that the fees vary enormously between different local authorities. Selective licensing, for example, is becoming increasingly common, but no one local authority charges the same—the cost of applying for a selective license can vary several hundred pounds across different areas. The other criticism from landlords is that the disreputable landlords are not the ones paying the fees, so the argument that many local authorities use for introducing selective licensing (it helps to improve the standard of housing across the private rental sector) doesn’t really hold much weight because rogue landlords slip below the radar.
And to make matters worse, councils now have the authority to charge full council tax for periods when a rental property lies empty, so landlords can’t even enjoy a period of grace if a property needs essential repairs or maintenance.
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