Will landlords have to level up their property portfolios?

The Levelling Up White Paper, which the government unveiled on Wednesday 2 February, included a raft of reforms to the private rental sector that will impact landlords.

This includes all rental properties having to meet a new minimum Decent Homes Standard, in addition to the scrapping of Section 21 evictions and introducing a national landlords register. 

Here we’ll cover what the minimum national standard will mean for landlords and the benefits of investing in new builds, so you can invest with confidence moving forward.

Modern standards

Within the Levelling Up White Paper, the government said it will announce a plan that for the first time ever will require all homes in the private rented sector to meet a minimum national standard. This means many landlords will be forced to refit their rental properties.

The Times has reported that the new legislation would require landlords to refit an estimated 800,000 properties that don’t currently meet requirements to be “safe, warm, and in a good state of repair”. This could end up coming at a hefty cost for landlords with older, lower quality properties.

Safety should be of the utmost importance for any property investment. People should feel safe in their homes, and the aim of this legislation is to ensure that tenants are living in homes up to modern standards. More details about rental reforms are expected to be released in another white paper in the spring.

The benefits of investing in new builds

New properties must meet certain standards involving quality and safety, which allows tenants to feel confident that they are safe in their rental home. For landlords with new-build properties, the Decent Homes Standard will be less of a worry as their properties have been built to these modern standards. 

This will likely make new builds more attractive for investors and landlords. Investing in a property that already meets modern standards could save a landlord hassle and allow them to future proof their investment too. 

This is especially the case with the government’s additional proposals to increase the minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented properties. The proposals, which were announced in late 2021, are expected to require landlords to have EPC ratings of C or higher for their properties with new tenancies from 2025 and all tenancies from 2028.

According to data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, 84% of new builds were given an EPC rating of an A or B between October and December 2021. This means most new new-build properties already meet the minimum requirements that could come into play in 2025.

On top of that, as new builds usually have these higher energy efficiency ratings, this keeps energy bills down. This is a big selling point for tenants, particularly as energy prices are soaring, and could help increase demand for your rental properties.

Invest with confidence

You can invest with more confidence when purchasing properties built to the highest modern standards. When purchasing a new-build property, do your research on the property developer and ensure they have a good reputation.

At Salboy, we have a proven track record of delivering first class, high-quality developments without compromise. All of our property developments are built to high modern standards. When investing in our developments, you don’t have to worry about safety or quality being an issue for your tenants.

You can check out the thousands of new homes Salboy has created and developed that are built to the highest modern standards. If you are interested in purchasing a new or off-plan property, get in touch with one of our friendly expert advisors.