General election 2024: a guide for landlords

With approximately three million landlords and private renting accounting for around a fifth of all households in the UK, those in the rental market provide a valuable voter base for politicians.

The following article outlines the key rental market issues that landlords will be looking to the nation’s politicians to address.

We’ve also analysed the manifestos from five major parties, focusing on what the proposed policies could mean for landlords:

• Conservative manifesto
• Labour Party manifesto
• Reform UK manifesto
• Liberal Democrats manifesto
• Green Party manifesto

Plus, read on for insight on how landlords feel about the future and what the election could mean for rental reforms.

What are the key issues for the rental market?

As the general election approaches, landlords will be paying close attention to what the main parties are planning to do about a range of issues. These include:

• rising costs – higher mortgage costs and significant tax changes have reduced returns for many landlords
• rental reforms – plans to scrap Section 21 evictions won’t be introduced before the election, but are likely to return to parliament in the future
• rental housing supply – an imbalance of rental supply and demand has led to unsustainable rent rises for tenants in some parts of the country
• energy efficiency – plans to increase minimum energy efficiency standards in rental properties were scrapped in 2023, but landlords remain unclear about what could happen next

Conservative Party manifesto – what landlords need to know

The Conservative Party manifesto was launched with the message of a ‘clear plan’ of ‘bold action’ for a ‘secure future’.

After first being pledged in 2019 and failing to become law due to the election being called, the Renters Reform Bill has been included in the 2024 manifesto.

The Conservatives say that if they win the election, they’ll deliver the court reforms needed to fully abolish Section 21 evictions. They’ve also pledged to strengthen other eviction grounds for landlords (e.g. Section 8) so they can evict anti-social tenants.

Other Conservative policies affecting landlords

A new measure announced as part of the Conservative manifesto is two-year temporary capital gains tax relief for landlords who sell their property to existing tenants. The party has also renewed their pledge to give local authorities the power to control holiday lets.

And after scrapping plans to increase the minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating in rental properties to C or above last year, Rishi Sunak’s party have said they won’t create any further green levies – nor will they force people to replace gas boilers with heat pumps.

Two of the manifesto’s headline policies focus on tax, which could affect landlords who complete a Self Assessment each year. The Conservatives have promised to:

• abolish the main rate of self-employed National Insurance by the end of the next parliament
• keep the rate of income tax the same

Labour Party manifesto – what landlords need to know

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer launched his party’s manifesto with the message that the upcoming ‘election is about change’.

The Labour manifesto has specific plans for the private rental sector, as well as proposals for the tax system which could affect landlords.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Section 21 evictions will be immediately abolished if Labour wins the election
• tenants will be given powers to challenge unreasonable rent rises
• Awaab’s Law, which requires social landlords to address dangerous hazards such as mould, will be extended to the private rental market
• rental properties will need to meet new energy efficiency standards by 2030 (it’s not clear which EPC rating will be the new minimum)
• energy efficiency changes won’t include the mandatory replacement of gas boilers

Labour’s plan for tax

When it comes to tax, the Labour manifesto commits not to increasing the basic, higher, or additional rate of income tax.

Corporation tax will also be capped at the current rate of 25 per cent.

Reform UK manifesto – what landlords need to know

Reform UK, now being led by Nigel Farage, are currently the third most popular party in the UK, according to the latest polls.

The party’s manifesto, referred to as its ‘Contract with you’, pledges a range of changes that could affect landlords and the rental market. These include:

• reverse Section 24 tax changes
• scrap plans for rental reforms
• increase the income tax personal allowance to £20,000
• increase the threshold for higher rate taxpayers to £70,000
• remove stamp duty for properties priced under £750,000
• increase the minimum profit threshold for corporation tax to £100,000
• reduce the corporation tax rate from 25 per cent to 15 per cent over five years
• abolish inheritance tax for all estates valued at under £2 million

Liberal Democrats manifesto – what landlords need to know

The theme of the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto is creating a ‘fair deal’ for everyone. Although Sir Ed Davey’s party’s policies don’t go into much detail on the private rental market, here are some pledges that could affect landlords:

• cutting income tax by raising the tax-free personal allowance
• reforming capital gains tax to close loopholes
• reintroducing requirements for landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties to EPC rating C or above by 2028
• giving local authorities powers to control second homes and short-term lets by allowing them to increase council tax by up to 500 per cent

Green Party manifesto – what landlords need to know

The Green Party, which is co-led by Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, says it’s aiming to get its largest ever vote share on 4 July. The party’s campaign slogan is ‘Real Hope. Real Change.’

Here’s what its manifesto pledges for the private rental market:

• allowing local authorities to control rents in unaffordable areas
• ending Section 21 evictions and introducing a ‘stable rental tenancy’
• giving tenants the right to demand energy efficiency improvements
• introducing tenancy boards to help resolve disputes before they reach a tribunal

The Green Party have also put forward several tax pledges that could affect buy-to-let landlords:

• aligning the rate of capital gains tax with income tax
• aligning tax rates on investment income with the rates on employment income

How do landlords feel about the future?

As part of our 2023 Landlord Report, we asked 1,500 landlords about their biggest concerns and their plans for the future.

Two thirds (66 per cent) said constantly changing and confusing government legislation is one of their greatest challenges.

Participating landlords also called out several challenges that relate to the government, including:

• a lower capital gains tax allowance (38 per cent)
• the reduction of buy-to-let mortgage interest tax relief (36 per cent)
• rising taxes such as income tax and corporation tax (35 per cent)

On top of this, 20 per cent said the Renters’ Reform Bill is the single biggest threat to the rental market.

These challenges appear to be having an impact, with 25 per cent of landlords saying they were planning to sell a property between 2023 and 2024. However many planned to sit tight, with 50 per cent saying they think buy-to-let remains a good investment.

Rental policies will influence the vote of majority of landlords

Almost three quarters (73 per cent) of landlords say that party policies relating to the rental market will influence their vote, according to a survey of 1,000 letting agents and landlords by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).

The study found that 45 per cent of landlords have already decided who they’re going to vote for, while 27 per cent are open to persuasion, and 19 per cent are still unsure.

Landlords said the leading policy area likely to influence their vote is ‘general economic competence’.

Rental reforms – how could they be affected by the election?

In May 2023, the government published draft legislation for the Renters’ Reform Bill. Described as the biggest change to tenancy law in a generation, the bill included measures to abolish Section 21 evictions and end fixed-term tenancies.

When the election was called, the bill had passed a second reading in the House of Lords and was awaiting the committee stage. This means the proposals in their current form were dropped.

As we can see from both the Conservative and Labour manifestos, no matter who wins the election, some rental reforms, such as scrapping Section 21 evictions, could be introduced during the next parliament.

Keep an eye on our Knowledge centre for all the latest developments as we get closer to the general election on 4 July 2024.

What are your hopes and concerns for the general election as a buy-to-let landlord? Let us know in the comments below.

Useful guides for landlords

• Buy-to-let mortgage affordability – a guide for landlords
• Stamp duty on second homes: the complete guide for landlords
• Is the landlord electrical safety certificate a legal requirement?
• What does landlord insurance cover?