After owning around 50 student houses over the years, Tom Mairs has now reduced his portfolio to zero – a decision he says was driven by the newly introduced Renters’ Rights Act.
The 40-year-old landlord said the reforms have fundamentally increased the risks of running student houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).
One major concern he has is students leaving part-way through the academic year, leaving him with empty rooms and potentially significant financial losses.
The Renters’ Rights Act, introduced in May of this year, abolished Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, ended fixed-term contracts in favour of rolling periodic tenancies, limited rent increases to once a year and capped upfront rent payments at one month.
Tom says he got rid of his properties as the Act was passing through the commons and looked more and more likely to become law.
