What do residential landlords need to know about a PM Liz Truss Government?

Earlier this afternoon, the much-anticipated Conservative Party Leadership contest concluded with Liz Truss coming out as the winner and now the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Many residential landlords and managing agents have been watching the contest in anticipation of understanding what reforms will come in to assist the residential landlord and tenant sector.

For those, landlords and tenants watching the hustings, you would have noticed that both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were hesitant to over commit in promises to better assist landlords within the residential tenancy sector and instead focused their answers towards developing new affordable housing. However, a Liz Truss premiership could assist the private residential tenancy sector in the following ways.

1. Better Rent Recording Initiatives – During her campaign, Truss announced that if elected she would enable tenants within the private rented sector to record their rents with the UK’s credit reference agencies. The advantage of this policy would be to assist tenants get onto the property ladder with improved credit profiles. It would also assist landlords and letting agents vet tenants more easily.
2. The Introduction to the Renters’ Reform Bill – The much-anticipated Renters’ Reform Bill which among the key reforms could see the abolition of the Section 21 Notice, reforms to the Section 8 Grounds and the introduction of a new landlord and tenant ombudsman service is likely to be a priority for the Prime Minister. However, interestingly, Liz Truss has been an advocate of simplifying or slowing down regulation. Consequently, it is possible that the Renters’ Reform Bill could be watered down, delayed or even scrapped. In our view, given the large numbers of voters who are tenants and the anticipation surrounding the Bill, it would be surprising if it were completely scrapped.
3. Corporation Tax – Liz Truss appealed to many Conservative members due to her low tax ideology. Therefore, her policy to reverse the planned rise in corporation tax could prove to be a boost for landlords operating their portfolios through limited companies.

For more information on this article or for any landlord and tenant legal assistance, do not hesitate to contact, Pranav Bhanot at Wyn Legal at pbhanot@wyn.legal