As Thursday 12th December draws closer, we’re keen to find out which parties our landlords are backing in the General Election. If you’re unsure on who to vote for, we’ve put together a summary of each party’s housing and rental plans to help you find out everything you need to know before polling day.
Not sure who to vote for? Take our quick landlord poll and find out how other landlords will be voting in the 2019 General Election
Labour
When it comes to housing, the Labour party has plans to:
- Create a new Department of Housing, make Homes England a more accountable national housing agency and give councils more control
- Set up a new English Sovereign Land Trust with powers to buy land more cheaply for low-cost housing
- Keep the Land Registry in public hands and make the ownership of land more transparent
- Introduce a new zero-carbon homes standard for all new homes and make existing homes more energy efficient
- Build 150,000 new council and social homes
- Only allow regeneration to go ahead with the consent of residents and ensure that all residents are offered a new property on the same site and terms
- Fund a new Decent Homes program to bring all council and housing association homes up to a good standard
- Build more low-cost homes reserved for first-time buyers in every area, with prices linked to local incomes
In regards to to the private rental sector, Labour hope to:
- Give councils the powers and funding to buy back homes from private landlords
- Protect private renters through rent controls, open-ended tenancies and new binding, minimum standards
- Cap rents at inflation to stop runaway rents
- Create new open-ended tenancies to prevent ‘no fault’ evictions
- Ensure all properties are up to scratch with new minimum standards, nationwide licensing and tougher sanctions
- Fund new renters’ unions across the country to allow renters to organise and defend their rights
- Get rid of the current rules that require landlords to check people’s immigration status or exclude people on housing benefit
- Give councils new powers to regulate short-term lets through companies such as Airbnb
You can view the Labour party’s full manifesto here.
Conservatives
If they remain in power, the Conservatives aim to:
- Bring in a ‘better’ deal for renters by abolishing no fault evictions and only require one lifetime deposit that moves with the tenant
- Encourage a new market in long-term fixed rate mortgages which slash the cost of deposits
- Offer more homes to local families by enabling councils to discount homes in perpetuity by a third
- Maintain commitment to a Right to Buy scheme for all council tenants
- Maintain the voluntary Right to Buy scheme agreed with housing associations
- Reform shared ownerships and simplify shared ownership products by setting a single standard for all housing associations
- Implementing a ban on the sale of new leasehold homes, restricted ground rents to a peppercorn, and providing necessary mechanisms of redress for tenants
- Build 300,000 homes a year by the mid 2020s
- Give local communities a say in their own community design standards for new development
- Support local communities living on council estates in taking ownership of the land and buildings that they live in
- Support the creation of new kinds of homes that have low energy bills and meet our environmental targets
- Encourage innovative design to make housing more affordable, accessible and suitable for disabled people and the ageing population
- Prioritise brownfield development in order to protect our green spaces
You can read the full Conservative manifesto here.
Liberal Democrats
Jo Swinson and the Liberal Democrats plan to:
- Cut energy bills and reduce emissions by providing free retrofits for low-income homes
- Piloting a new Energy-Saving Homes Scheme
- Graduate Stamp Duty Land Tax by property energy ratings
- Require all new homes to be built to a zero-carbon standard by 2021, rising to Passivhaus standard by 2025
- Increase minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented properties and remove the cost cap on improvements
- Build at least 100,000 homes for social rent each year and ensure that this increases to 300,000
- Finance a large increase in the building of social homes
- Devolve full control of Right to Buy to local councils
- Introduce a new Rent to Own model for social housing where rent payments give tenants an increasing stake in the property, owning it outright after 30 years
- Allow local authorities to increase council tax up to 500% where houses are being bought as second homes
- Introduce a Stamp Duty surcharge on overseas residents purchasing houses as second homes
- Establish a new Help to Rent scheme to provide government-backed tenancy deposit loans for all first-time renters under 30
- Promote longer tenancies of 3 years of more with an inflation-linked annual rent increase built in
- Improve protection against rogue landlords through mandatory licensing
- Fully recognise tenant panels so that renters have a voice in landlord governance
You can read the Liberal Democrats’ full manifesto here.
Still not sure?
Still unsure on who to vote for? Read the other party manifestos below:
Not sure who to vote for? Take our quick landlord poll and find out how other landlords will be voting in the 2019 General Election
What do other landlords think?
We’ve had over 300 landlords fill in our survey and tell us who they’re voting for. Here are some of their comments.
“Tories will boost the economy which other parties cannot do.”
Landlord voting the Conservative Party
“Their policies on housing are arguably the least anti-landlord.”
Landlord voting for the Liberal Democrats
“The whole organisation of the party, and the range of policies are commercially and economically pragmatic.”
Landlord voting for the Brexit Party
“I think that good landlords have nothing to fear from offering more security of tenure as they have done in Scotland – tenants deserve it”
Landlord voting for the Labour Party
Some landlords feel as though they have no choice but to withhold their vote this year:
“I am a Conservative but their pledge to abolish section 21, their U turn on £80,000 40% tax threshold together with the raft of legislation that has changed our industry under their watch due to them letting Labour set the agenda has left me with no one to vote for.
My constituency is Conservative at the moment and therefore the Brexit Party are not standing, otherwise I would have given them my vote. The Conservatives need to stop chasing the ‘tenant vote’ and should not take traditional voters for granted!”
Landlord opting not to vote this year
Do you agree with what any of these landlords have had to say? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
