Simon Lambert

I think it's a bad thing if you suddenly get loads of tenants saying, right, two months notice, we're out, right, two months notice, we're out.

But we've got tenants saying that what they want most of all is security.

So why would tenants do that?

So maybe this thing will work out OK.

I can see where it is an issue, though, for the landlords who just feel like they're being crushed by regulation, red tape and extra costs.

Landlords are selling up.

It's not the Renters' Rights Act that's causing them to sell up, although some of them will have gone, you know what, I've had enough.

This is the final straw.

What's causing them to sell up?

is the tax squeeze that they've faced, in particular, the fact that they can't offset all of their mortgage interest against their tax now, which means effectively that they're paying tax based on their revenue, not on their profit, because that mortgage interest is a business expense.

You can't claim back your mortgage repayments, paying off the debt, but you can claim back the interest.

So effectively, they're paying tax on the interest that they're paying, which is quite controversial.

And then also there's things like the rules about having to upgrade the property for better EPCs, energy performance certificates that are going to come in.

That's going to cost them a load of money and various other things.

And also just an age profile thing.

Many landlords are older.

A lot of them have made quite a lot of money off house price rises.

And they think, you know what, I might as well cash in and sell up.

The other thing I think that's really important to remember about this conversation is I think.

The conversation about renting is dominated by a very London-centric view.