According to an article in the Times online late last week there has been a fundamental shift in the power dynamic between landlord and tenant. According to the article in the last half of last year tenants held all the cards but that has rapidly changed with landlords once again in possession of the aces.
They point to the fact that all our reluctant landlord’s are happily selling up and getting out, as the reason for the shift. In addition those who would like to get into renting property are being blocked by the banks current scrooge like attitude.This, of course, reduces the number of rental properties on the market and makes it less of a buyer’s, or in this case renter’s market.
On the whole though I do not think that talk of power actually benefits us landlords in anyway. Tenants may be losing that battle at the moment but they are certainly winning the PR war.
For example the article sees the fact that we may well become a nation of renters if things progress in the fashion they are, slightly differently from those of us in the game. Whereas we tend to talk about the importance of protecting the sector that is likely to provide the housing for the nation, they talk about a country of renters needing far more security for tenants.
The article writes off the ARLA’s concerns over new legislation and plans to have a Tripadvisor style website to rank landlords, as predictable.
Landlords need to take heed of the fact that they need to be careful with their image. The court of public opinion is a very powerful one, it changes laws and could well hit landlords in the hip pocket if they are not careful.
