“Throughout my 20 plus years working as an agent, I have witnessed the increasing pressures facing landlords. I decided to do something to help”. Alfie Rose (Ello’s Founder)

Landlords fulfil a critical housing need, yet more and more are deciding to exit the market. A less favourable tax regime, increased borrowing costs and the threat of potentially onerous legislation make being a landlord a less attractive proposition.

The team at Ello Property aim to dispel some of the fear surrounding legislative changes and offer a solution to the increasing costs.

There is much talk in the industry press around how anti-landlord the Government is, however we must remember the pressure MPs are under to win votes, especially with a General Election looming. Liz Truss’ disastrous mini budget resulted in soaring interest rates which slowed the supply of rental property to the market. At the same time demand for rental property increased and therefore rents also skyrocketed.

Vote winning mandate aside, MPs will want to help their constituents with their housing needs. That being said, the consequences of some Government manifestos are not always thought through. Let’s take the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill as an example. On the face of it, it looked like a solid policy which was moving quickly through the parliamentary process, until the reality of the proposals became clear. The Bill would potentially wipe out billions in pension funds that had invested in ground rents. That’s that then.

Similarly the initial proposals within the Renters Reform Bill https://elloproperty.co.uk/blog/f/the-rental-reform-bill—in-a-nutshell) appeared way worse than where we stand today following the realisation of many Tory backbenchers who incidentally are also landlords.

The point is that the end result, the reality of any legislative changes, are probably not going to be all that bad. After all, everyone (even Labour) understands the importance of landlords.

The other challenge facing landlords is increasing costs. Mortgage rates and tax liabilities being the most likely culprits. A good mortgage broker and a great accountant may be able to help somewhat, but these challenges aren’t going anywhere soon. However, there are ways to reduce overall costs.

First of all, make sure your property is performing well and achieving a strong market rent. Make it stand out from the rest by maintaining standards and improving energy performance. https://elloproperty.co.uk/blog/f/how-to-maximise-the-chances-of-a-smooth-tenancy. 

“Quality tenants will pay a strong rent for quality property and are more likely to look after it” says Alfie.

Reduce the risk of problems by following Ello’s easy to follow step by step guides and templates. Property management is not rocket science. If you do things properly and follow the Ello process you shouldn’t need to allocate more than 8 hours of your time per year to the property. 

The team at Ello appreciate that landlords are often busy people and may not be local to their properties. Having worked in agency for many years, the team at Ello understand the role an agent plays. There will always be a time and a place for a decent agent. However, we also understand how agents work. Agency is a highly competitive industry with most employees earning a living on a commission basis. In most market places it’s tough to win business and a common tactic used by agents is that of scaremongering. Intentionally going out to strike fear into the minds of landlords to all but force them into signing up to an expensive full managed service. As discussed, the reality is somewhat different. 

Using Ello’s property management tools you can manage your own rental property the way you would want your agent to, and at a fraction of the cost. Ello will not only save you money on agency fees, but by taking control of the management of your property you will also reduce unnecessary contractor costs and agency commissions on maintenance work.

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