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.

That’s why plans for the rental market could be prominent in manifestos and campaigning ahead of the upcoming general election.

The rental market has faced uncertainty in recent years, as tenants and landlords wait for widespread rental reforms to be introduced.

And as average rent prices continue to grow alongside an increasing demand for homes, private renting will remain an important part of the housing market.

With this in mind, we take a closer look at the biggest rental market issues, plus what the biggest two parties have said so far.

When is the general election 2024?

The general election will take place on Thursday 4 July 2024. It was widely speculated that Rishi Sunak would call an election in the autumn, but he took the nation by surprise when he announced a summer election on 22 May.

Parliament will be formally shut down on Thursday 30 May ahead of a five-week campaigning period.

What are the key issues for the rental market?

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

As the general election approaches, landlords will be eager to hear 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 later in the year
• 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

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 an 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 there’s no chance of the reforms becoming law before the election.

As bills can’t be carried over into a new parliament, whoever wins the election will need to launch a new bill if they want to introduce rental reforms.

What could a Conservative government mean for the rental market?

The idea for a ‘better deal’ for renters was first introduced as part of the Conservative manifesto ahead of the 2019 general election.

It’s unclear whether the party will include a commitment to finish its work on rental reforms in its 2024 manifesto.

If rental reforms are included, they’ll likely include measures to reform the courts to allow for Section 21 evictions to be scrapped as well as:

• making it easier for tenants to request to keep pets
• introducing the decent homes standard for private rentals
• launching a private rental sector database
• making it illegal for landlords to have blanket bans on renting to families or people receiving benefits

At the moment, the Conservatives’ plans around improving energy efficiency of rental homes is unclear. It’s also unlikely that the party would consider things like compulsory licensing or rent controls.

What could a Labour government mean for the rental market?

If the Labour Party were to win the general election, it’s likely that they’d launch their own version of rental reforms, with scrapping Section 21 evictions a priority.

Speaking in May, Shadow Housing Minister Angela Rayner said that the Labour Party would “ban no fault evictions, no ifs, no buts” if they win the election. It’s previously been reported that Labour would aim to ban Section 21 evictions within 100 days of forming a government.

This suggests that Sir Keir Starmer’s party could be willing to push through the removal of Section 21 without making any changes to the courts.

Another indication of what Labour could be planning for the rental market is the recently-published Independent Review of the UK’s Private Rented Housing Sector.

The report was created by London Labour councillor Stephen Cowan and commissioned by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Minister for International Development.

Some of the recommendations for England and Wales in the report include:

• limiting rent increases
• launching a national landlord register and register for letting agents
• increasing security of tenure for renters
• introducing a renters’ charter
• creating a code of conduct for landlords

On top of this, a Labour government could reintroduce higher energy efficiency standards for rental properties. Shadow Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has already hinted that he’s in favour of increasing the minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating to C or above.

It’s important to note that although the date for the election has been set, no manifestos have been released. This article is based on the messaging we've seen so far and existing policies from the current government.

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

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

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• What does landlord insurance cover?