How will landlords vote in the election?

Category: government and politics

At a time when landlords shoulder the blame for a lack of housing in the UK, despite successive governments missing housebuilding targets, is it any wonder that 41% are undecided on how they will vote?

Specialist mortgage lender, Landbay, surveyed over 1,500 landlords on how they will vote, come July 4th.

Beyond the 41% who do not know who to vote for, responses showed that 31% of landlords said they will vote for the Conservatives, 12% said they would vote Labour and just over 5% support the Liberal Democrats. One-in-ten selected “Other”.

Who are the undecideds?

Of the 41% who are undecided on which party to support, 35% were landlords with portfolios of 4-10 properties. Around 25% were large portfolio holders, who have 20 or more properties.

The overwhelming majority of the undecided landlord cohort (69%) were limited company investors.

Wider political concerns

Just under half (48%) of the landlords surveyed are concerned about the prospect of a new government taking the vote in July.

Various views were shared in responses given, as to why this is the case.

There is a perception amongst respondents that the Labour party is “anti-landlord” and many landlords feel that they bring too many unknowns into play.

The cost of tax weighs heavy with many of those surveyed, who said they will vote for whichever party will reduce the tax burden on landlords.

This may make their voting conundrum difficult, as it is not clear this will be offered by any party.

Landbay shared specific sentiments from some of those who responded to their survey. One landlord said:

A Labour government will be traditionally landlord unfriendly. Conservative policies of recent years have also been far too punitive to landlords.

This view has been echoed time and again amongst messages coming from the Private Rental Sector (PRS). A politically helpful shift of focus, away from unmet housebuilding targets to landlords, to explain the plight of prospective first time buyers, has been embraced by politicians.

Another of the surveyed respondents underlined this point, in saying:

Everyone is anti-landlord. With a lack of affordable housing, we are the scapegoats. They have increased our tax and compliance burden. The left is making it worse.

Landbay calls for reassurance for landlords

There is every chance that Labour will defeat the Conservatives, with many feeling it is a forgone conclusion. John Goodall, founder and CEO of Landbay, encouraged the party to reassure landlords:

Now that the election has been called, it is clear that landlords still need further reassurance from Labour about their plans for government and their policy for the sector. The UK needs a strong private rental sector that can support investment and has the ability to scale in order to provide housing to millions of households. We therefore urge Sir Keir Starmer to make clear his plans on housing and how his party will recognise the critical role of landlords and the private rental sector in the UK’s housing mix.

Rob Stanton, sales and distribution direct for Landbay took the chance to remind the landlord community that political change is by no means an insurmountable challenge:

With a large proportion of landlords still undecided, these findings show the huge opportunity that is out there for all parties to engage with landlords, address their concerns and give them a reason to vote for their party. Given that much of recent politics from all sides has been anti-landlord, this would be a welcome change.

It’s only natural for a potential change in government to raise concerns. In fact, we’re seeing this across lots of different industries and sectors as we all try and predict what changes in policy, regulation and central funding, for example will mean for us. It’s important for landlords to remember that the buy-to-let market has survived countless crises, regime changes and new governments. Furthermore, it has continued to thrive with lenders ready and willing to lend, and talented brokers able to support landlords in seizing the opportunities that are still out there.

At a time of political uncertainty, it is very important to remember that a lot is said on the run up to an election that simply does not come to pass, when it comes to the crunch.

Everyone is pushing hard to secure votes. Messages coming from the various parties are carefully crafted to drive emotive responses from large sections of the voting public. But, when it truly becomes clear what can be realistically changed for a government within office, the picture can alter.