Boris this is what Oxford Landlords would like for Christmas

Oxford landlords have been selling more of their properties than investing in new properties, despite Oxford being identified as THE top UK City for buy to rent investment returns.  With demand from Oxford tenants continuing to rise year on year, and supply of good quality private rented homes failing to keep up with demand, it seems certain that rental yields will outstrip inflation over the coming 3 years.  So why are landlords divesting?

It is the cumulative impact of legislative changes enacted by the government - a stamp duty surcharge, taxing new buy to let investments, the reduction of tax relief on mortgage interest and most recently, the tenant fee ban which has made agency more expensive.

However, whilst these changes have undermined investment returns, most landlords are still making strong returns overall.  But, Oxford's landlords are being made to feel the 'bad guys' by a political and media narrative that casts them as the bad guys and their tenants as an exploited minority.  The truth across Oxford is that the vast majority of landlords provide good quality and value reliable tenants.

The new government needs to stop interfering with the private rented market, and needs to take some specific actions to re-invigorate landlord investment if they are to avoid worsening an already serious local housing crisis.  So what do Oxford landlords want for Christmas from Boris?

Stamp duty reform
The government should repeal the stamp duty surcharge on buy to let purchases, to remove this barrier to new investment in private rented properties.

Reform not scrap Section 21 Notices
The proposed changes that will remove the Section 21 Notice forcing landlords to rely on Section 8 notices is short-sighted and punishes all landlords for the failings of a tiny minority of rogue landlords.  Instead the accelerated prepossession should be retained, but better enforced with clarification to offer tenants better protection from non-fault eviction.

House building blitz
Oxford has suffered over the last decade from a dearth of new affordable housing being built to offer a true alternative to renting for some tenants.  This is now THE biggest challenge facing local government and Parliament, without new affordable housing stock coming on stream, house ownership will remain a pipe-dream for many of the City's residents.  Until then, the city will remain reliant of a robust and vibrant private rented sector.

The jury is out on whether the election result will be positive for Oxford's landlords or merely the least-bad outcome.  But all are united in hoping that government will take time to properly consider the big picture and listen carefully to the industry experts so as to avoid negative consequences that have resulted from interference in 2019.