But who is going to stay, and why?
With manifesto pledges to improve the energy efficiency of homes by 2030, despite expert’s assertions that EPCs are not fit for purpose, what will be the metric? Who is funding the bill? Am I, as the landlord, once more expected to find that illusory money tree at the bottom of the garden?
What freaks me out the most is the lack of detail about the current housing situation, or rather what we all know as ‘The Housing Crisis’.
Starmer says: “The housing crisis is well known to be one of the country’s biggest barriers to growth”, but at no stage in reading the manifesto did I feel encouraged to invest. In fact, when I read the words “we will make housing more affordable” I felt the hairs on the back of my neck shoot up.
He doesn’t say how – does that mean I will be forced to sell to my tenants? Or will they just simply take away any rights I had to the property in the first place?
Or maybe they’ll just tax me out of existence.
Given tax has become one of the cornerstones of this political in-fight, it’s bile-inducing to see the loudness and clarity with which Labour has declared they won’t be increasing income tax, National Insurance or VAT.
The omission of the other taxes is blatant. The silence is soul-destroying. What, then, will happen to capital gains tax? Inheritance tax? Stamp duty?
Starmer’s plan is to put wealth creation as a top priority, but is that so they can create a new wealth tax? I mean, he goes on enough about looking after “working people”, but once you’ve worked (and paid your tax on your wages) and then invested, you’re getting “unearned” income from an asset.
That doesn’t necessarily make you wealthy, but I’d suggest it makes you a tasty target for a new kind of tax.
I won’t deny my head is spinning. It’s the silence that gets me, and the knowledge Labour will have a giant funding black hole to fill.
They’ll be looking for an easy target, and as a landlord, I’ve got used to that being me.
The Secret Landlord is a monthly column by an anonymous buy-to-let investor. Email: secretlandlord@telegraph.co.uk
