How Landlords can prepare for the next General Election

How Landlords can prepare for the next General Election – Over the past few weeks PropertyQuoteDirect has mentioned the next General Election in a number of our blog and news articles, mainly due to the fact that whatever happens in the next twelve months will have a huge impact on the private rental sector. Therefore, it is wise for landlords to start protecting their businesses now, however how can this be done and what changes do landlords realistically need to protect themselves against? Here, PropertyQuoteDirect explains in further detail:

Why it’s Important to Prepare Now

Some landlords may think that preparing now for an election that is over a year away is too overcautious, however the fact of the matter is that time is of the essence. While the actual election date may be over a year away (May 7th to be exact), the property and private rental markets will soon start to change as political parties announce their manifestos. At the end of the day, the property market – like any other market – is intrinsically linked to the UK’s economy and stock market. Even small announcements from political parties about what they would do if they won the next General Election can cause investors to become extremely cautious, ultimately having an effect on the property and private rental markets. Over the next few months we expect investors to be extremely wary, so it’s important for landlords to be too.

Political Parties to Look Out For

The last UK General Election was extremely controversial, as after the votes were counted it was revealed that there was a hung parliament. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives won the majority of the votes, which means that the Liberal Democrats had to join one of the parties in a coalition government in order to give them parliamentary majority. The decision by the Liberal Democrats to join the Conservative party was seen as unexpected by some, as the Liberal Democrats traditionally have the same political ideologies and views as the Labour party. Since then we have seen numerous other parties entering the UK’s political scene, one of the most noticeable being the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Therefore, the next election will be even more varied than previous ones, which is why landlords should look out for a number of political parties including the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the Green Party to name a few.

Why Location is Important

Even though there are more political parties to look out for in the next General Election, it is also important to understand that your location will have a big part to play when it comes to public support for certain parties. For example, recent reports have suggested that the Conservative party is more popular among the southern region of the UK, while the Labour party is generally supported in the north. This means that if you have properties based in various regions across the UK it is likely you will have to deal with both Labour and Conservative MPs. Even though certain legislation concerning the property and private rental sectors will be decided by whoever is in parliament next year and will affect the entire country, it is still important to understand that in certain areas there will be different political parties in power.

Protecting your Lettings Business

Just this week Labour party leader Ed Miliband announced that if Labour were to win next year’s election they would introduce a number of rent reforms that would give more power to tenants and require landlords to offer longer tenancies. At the same time, it is expected for the Conservative party to continue with their austerity measures and welfare reforms if they remain in power next year, showing two completely different plans of action. In order to protect your business it is therefore important to build up your relationships with your tenants as well as create forecasts for your business which will take into consideration every eventuality. It may also be wise to ensure that you are getting the best available mortgage and landlord insurance rates, as if the private rental sector struggles next year every penny will count.

After the events of the last General Election it is expected that the next will be filled with twists and turns. As a landlord it is therefore key for you to try and keep your business as stable as possible during these turbulent times, as when the dust settles you will be able to have a clear view on how to adapt your business according to new legislation.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

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