2015 General Election Landlords Survey - Attitudes towards party, leadership and housing policy
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2015 General Election Landlords Survey Attitudes towards party, leadership and housing policy
2015 General Election Landlords Survey 2
Introduction
From the CEO
We founded Rentify to shake up the lettings industry and
prove that landlords and tenants needn’t be beholden
to traditional estate agents, whose exorbitant fees,
incompetence and endless red tape make property
management unnecessarily complicated and expensive.
We are excited to present the largest survey on the
political attitude of residential landlords in the run-up to
the 2015 General Election, consisting of 1,205 participants
from our customer base of 175,000 British landlords. We
also include in-depth analysis on the property-related
commitments taken on by each major party, conducted
by our in-house experts.
These findings should hopefully inform party policy as we
approach May 7th, with the aim of making life easier for
both landlords and tenants alike.
George Spencer
CEO, Rentify2015 General Election Landlords Survey 3
Executive summary
Nearly half the landlords we asked intend to vote “The Liberal
Conservative in the upcoming election. That’s more than
twice as many as Labour. Democrats have
Steady Conservative vote share across age groups
said virtually
suggests that Labour-voting landlords are switching to nothing about
UKIP. Support for Labour wanes as landlord age rises,
with UKIP receiving an increasing share of votes among housing, one of
young landlords.
the most pressing
David Cameron is by far the most popular party leader
among landlords. Labour leader Ed Miliband is only
infrastructural
slightly better-liked than UKIP’s Nigel Farage. problems facing
Conservatives take a liberal approach on rental market the country.”
by not interfering on rent prices and tenancy lengths -
although this goes against some analyses, including
The Economist’s recommendation for longer tenancies.
While some landlords remain dubious over Conservative
housing policy, they are even less impressed by Labour,
Lib Dem and UKIP policies.
The North-South divide is clearly evident among “UKIP policies
landlords, with Conservative voters dominating the South,
including London. are broadly
In the Northeast, Northwest and Yorkshire, Labour and
landlord-friendly
UKIP have received overwhelming support. and also include
Only the Conservatives and Greens have a clear longer three-
affordable housing target.
year tenancies
Labour is focused on renters, but it is also promising to
speed up planning process for smaller unit schemes.
and some
With less than two months to go until the General
environmental
Election, the Liberal Democrats have said virtually nothing regulation.”
about housing, one of the most pressing infrastructural
problems facing the country.
UKIP policies are broadly landlord-friendly and
also include longer three-year tenancies and some
environmental regulation.
UKIP is also looking to encourage more landlords to rent
to tenants on benefits.2015 General Election Landlords Survey 4
Survey results
Landlords intend to overwhelmingly vote Conservative in the “Unusually
upcoming General Election, with 47 per cent of the preference
– more than double Labour’s share of the landlord vote, which for Farage,
is 20 per cent. The more controversial UKIP now represents
the choice of 18 per cent of landlords in Britain, almost at
who normally
parity with Labour. polls strongly
When it comes to respective party leaders’ popularity among
voting landlords, David Cameron is the clear winner. 56 per
on personal
cent cited him as their preferred leader. He is followed by popularity, UKIP’s
Ed Miliband on 17 per cent and Nigel Farage on 16 per cent.
Unusually for Farage, who normally polls strongly on personal leader is less
popularity, UKIP’s leader is less popular than his party with
landlords. popular than
Although landlords seem comfortable with the current Prime his party with
Minister representing them, they’re less enthusiastic about
Conservative housing policy, giving it an average evaluation landlords.”
of 5.8 on a scale of 0 to 10. This suggests that if the Tories
are counting on the votes of Britain’s landlords, they need
to propose additional pro-landlord initiatives ahead of the
General Election.
Landlords responded even less positively to other parties’ “Although
respective housing policies, ranking Lib Dem at a woeful 3.3
and Labour at 3.9. UKIP came the closest to positive, with 4.9. landlords seem
But no party was particularly warmly embraced by landlords,
who have perhaps been left cold by over-regulation and a lack
comfortable
of support from the political class generally. with the current
A clear pattern emerges when we examine the age of
landlords in our survey. UKIP acquires a larger share of the
Prime Minister
votes as landlords become older: only 9 per cent of landlords
in the 25 to 34 bracket support UKIP, but that grows to an
representing
impressive 33 per cent for ages 75 and above. them, they’re less
Inversely, Labour loses a portion of its share of landlords as
they get older. 27 per cent of landlord votes in the 25 to 34
enthusiastic about
age bracket supported Labour, but that figure slides to 13 per Conservative
cent for the 75+ bracket. This suggests that older landlords
are shifting their vote from Labour to UKIP, since the share of housing policy.”
voters for Conservative is relatively consistent between 50 per
cent and 60 per cent.
Location also played a role in the survey results. 55 per cent
of landlords in the South (including London) plan to vote
Conservative, while Labour and UKIP share the majority of
votes across the North East, North West and Yorkshire.2015 General Election Landlords Survey 5
Landlord voting intentions & leadership preferences
“For which political party are you planning to vote in the election?”
Answer %
Conservative 45%
Labour 19%
UKIP 17%
Liberal Democrat 6%
Green 6%
SNP 2%
Other 5%
0 100 200 300 400 500
“Which party leader do you feel best represents your interests as a landlord?”
Answer %
David Cameron 51%
Ed Miliband 16%
Nigel Farage 15%
Nick Clegg 6%
Natalie Bennett 5%
Other 8%
0 100 200 300 400 500 6002015 General Election Landlords Survey 6
Party housing policy
Views on a party’s entire set of proposals
Party housing policy Score
Conservative 5.75
UKIP 4.88
Labour 3.93
Liberal Democrat 3.27
Green 3.04
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Conservative Party
Answer % Annual total house- Rent Cap
building target No
0 (totally negative) 5.3%
For councils to
Length of tenancy
1 1.5% determine housing
Support voluntary
targets.
2 5.3% model tenancies
Planning agreement.
3 6.1%
Continuing current
Development land tax
4 4.9% policies. Further
No
support roll out
5 22.5%
of neighbourhood Mansion Tax
6 12.7% planning. No
7 16.8% Garden Cities
Yes, where locally
8 13.4%
supported.
9 3.6%
Private Rented Sector
10 (totally positive) 7.9% Complete delivery of
10,000 new homes
below market rent.2015 General Election Landlords Survey 7
Labour Party
Answer % Annual total house- Rent Cap
building target Market rent followed by
0 (totally negative) 13.9%
200,000 ceiling on rent increases
1 7.9% over 3 year tenancies.
Planning
2 11.5% Speed up planning2015 General Election Landlords Survey 8
UKIP Party
Answer % Annual total house- Rent Cap
building target No
0 (totally negative) 10.8%
200,000
Length of tenancy
1 3.2%
Planning New 3-10 year
2 6.1% Cut costs of tenancies – as well
applications by merging as ASTs (Assured
3 8.4%
planning and building Shorthold Tenancies).
4 10.5% more control depts.
Development land tax
5 18.9% Garden Cities No
Yes, not on greenbelt.
6 12.7% Mansion Tax
Private Rented Sector No
7 12.8%
Encourage more
8 9.0% landlords to rent to
tenants on housing
9 3.0%
benefits.
10 (totally positive) 4.6%
Green Party
Answer % Annual total house- Rent Cap
building target Cap rent rises to
0 (totally negative) 21.9%
Let Local Authorities inflation initially. Living
1 11.6% determine. Rent Commission to
examine more stringent
2 11.0% Planning
proposals.
Constrain power of
3 14.8%
national planning Length of tenancy
4 11.7% inspectorate. Councils to 5 years with the tenant’s
have more proactive role. right to renew unless the
5 12.8%
landlord sells or moves in.
Garden Cities
6 6.5%
TBC Development land tax
7 5.0% Yes
Private Rented Sector
8 2.8% Compulsory licensing for Mansion Tax
all landlords. No lettings Would support, prefer
9 0.5%
agent fees for tenants. Land Value Tax.
10 (totally positive) 1.5%2015 General Election Landlords Survey 9
Party housing policy analysis
Conservatives Labour
As expected, Conservatives take a liberal approach Labour is directing its housing policies to renters,
to the rental market, opting not to interfere with which is not a surprise considering they comprise
rent prices and tenancy lengths. This is good news a fast-growing voting base. But this has had an
for landlords should the Tories remain in government, impact on the party’s popularity with landlords.
though it does contradict a small but growing number
Should Labour get into government in Britain the
of experts – including The Economist – who advocate
lettings market can expect dramatic changes: rent
for longer tenancy periods.
controls, minimum tenancies and the introduction
First Buyer Support (FTB) schemes, formerly known of a ‘no lettings fee’ rule for tenants.
as Help to Buy, are to remain during the next four
If these go ahead we expect an impact across
years if the Conservatives stay in power. Although
the property market: lower demand for buy-to-
this helps younger voters get on to the property
let products, from mortgages to developments,
ladder, it might lead to further pressure in London
higher agency fees for landlords to compensate
where supply is scarce.
agencies that traditionally charge tenants with AST
So far only Conservatives (and the Greens) have and reference fees and obviously a lower yield on
a clear, affordable housing target: 275,000 – of landlords’ properties due to rent control.
those, 200,000 with 20 per cent discounts for First
Beyond the rental market, Labour has ambitious
Buyer Support purchasers under 40, and a price
targets for housebuilding with 200,000 new
cap of £250,000 outside London and £450,000
properties every year. As with the Conservatives
in London, as well as 10,000 new houses below
equivalent, this is nothing more than a promise
market rent.
considering the challenges building around green belts
Although this is welcome news for FTBs and tenants and archaic planning processes - as the insufficient
alike, it lacks a lot of detail, including a percentage for new homes built in the last few years demonstrates.
London and the South East where scarcity is higher.
Labour, however, is promising to speed up that
Regardless, landlords seem to broadly support
process for smaller unit schemes, which is
Tory proposals. Roughly half of them plan to vote
definitely welcome news to the constrained supply
Conservative in the General Election.
of new homes.2015 General Election Landlords Survey 10
Liberal Democrats UKIP
Remarkably little has been said by the Liberal UKIP housing policies seem to be more landlord-
Democrats during their time in coalition government friendly, although they include some elements of
about housing and nothing at all about lettings as environmental and social conscience. This explains
of March 2015 (except for high level plans on rent- why some landlords feel Nigel Farage and his party
to-own schemes). represent their interests (some 18 per cent).
The party has committed to a 300,000 annual Should UKIP join a coalition government Britain
building target, which seems ambitious given should expect no rent controls but possible longer
the aforementioned restrictions on green belt tenancies, with a minimum period of three years.
development and the planning process itself.
UKIP is also looking to encourage more landlords to
rent to tenants on benefits. While we’re still waiting
for details on this policy, it could be good news
for both parties, as it will increase demand in the
market generally.
Like other parties UKIP shows bold figures for
annual housebuilding – again, not much more
than a promise considering the challenges. But
UKIP does mention cutting red tape and costs
around planning by merging planning and building
control departments.2015 General Election Landlords Survey 11 Appendix: demographic details “What is your age?” Age group % 18 to 24 1.0% 25 to 34 13.6% 35 to 44 20.0% 45 to 54 25.9% 55 to 64 26.5% 65 to 74 11.1% 75 or older 1.8% “Where do you live?” Area % Greater London 20.1% Home Counties* 5.4% South East 12.6% South West 10.7% East England** 5.2% West Midlands 6.8% East Midlands 5.5% Yorkshire and the Humber 8.3% North West England 11.6% North East England 5.4% Scotland 3.7% Wales 4.4% Northern Ireland 0.4% * Anglia and Essex ** Herts, Beds, Bucks, Berks
2015 General Election Landlords Survey 12 “For which political party are you planning to vote in the election?” Age group Cons. Green Labour Lib Dem. SNP UKIP 18 to 24 63% 13% 25% 25 to 34 50% 6% 27% 5% 2% 9% 35 to 44 45% 10% 21% 9% 1% 13% 45 to 54 45% 8% 22% 4% 2% 19% 55 to 64 47% 6% 15% 8% 3% 22% 65 to 74 60% 1% 13% 1% 3% 21% 75 or older 40% 7% 13% 7% 0% 33% “For which political party are you planning to vote in the election?” Age group Cons. Green Labour Lib Dem. SNP UKIP East England* 47% 5% 16% 9% 0% 23% East Midlands 31% 13% 29% 4% 2% 20% Greater London 56% 10% 19% 7% 2% 5% Home Counties** 61% 0% 11% 5% 0% 23% North East England 36% 2% 25% 5% 0% 32% North West England 40% 5% 26% 4% 1% 23% Northern Ireland 67% 0% 0% 0% 0% 33% Scotland 27% 3% 23% 0% 37% 10% South East 55% 10% 14% 8% 0% 14% South West 57% 6% 8% 11% 0% 18% Wales 42% 8% 17% 3% 6% 25% West Midlands 50% 4% 27% 0% 0% 20% Yorkshire and the Humber 37% 7% 26% 4% 0% 25% * Anglia and Essex ** Herts, Beds, Bucks, Berks
Rentify is the UK’s fastest growing
letting agent, built and run by ex-
Samsung, Google, and Centrica
leadership, with an existing customer
base of over 175,000 landlords and
an average of 10,000 landlords
joining each month. Founded in 2011,
Rentify operates a nationwide service
from two Centres of Excellence, with
one based in North Yorkshire and the
other in London.
From day one, we’ve blended
property and technical expertise to
provide landlords with a smarter,
faster, and fairer way to let their
properties. Our emphases are upon
convenience, savings, and top quality
customer service, all powered
through remarkable technology.
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