A survey of landlords has found that just over 40% are still undecided on who to vote for in the upcoming general election on 4 July, while nearly half have concerns over a potential change in government.
Landbay asked over 1,500 landlords how they intend to vote and 41% said they don’t yet know which party they will choose. 31% said they will vote Conservative, while 12% said they will opt for Labour. Just over 5% said they intended to vote for the Liberal Democrats and one in 10 chose ‘Other’.
Of those undecided, the largest proportion is those landlords with portfolios of 4-10 properties (35%), while landlords with 20 or more properties make up a quarter. The majority of those undecided operate within a limited company (69%).
The survey also found that nearly half of landlords (48%) have concerns about a potential change of government. When explaining their reasoning, respondents described Labour as “anti-landlord” and a potential government offering “too many unknowns”, with many of the policies of the two main parties seeming closely aligned. Others said that their vote will go to the party that will reduce the heavy tax burden facing landlords.
One landlord said: “A Labour government will be traditionally landlord unfriendly. Conservative policies of recent years have also been far too punitive to landlords.”
Another said: “Everyone is anti-landlord. With a lack of affordable housing, we are the scapegoats. They have increased our tax and compliance burden. The left is making it worse.”
John Goodall, founder and CEO of Landbay, said: “Now that the election has been called, it is clear that landlords still need further reassurance from Labour about their plans for government and their policy for the sector. The UK needs a strong private rental sector that can support investment and has the ability to scale in order to provide housing to millions of households.
“We therefore urge Sir Keir Starmer to make clear his plans on housing and how his party will recognise the critical role of landlords and the private rental sector in the UK’s housing mix.”
Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, added: “With a large proportion of landlords still undecided, these findings show the huge opportunity that is out there for all parties to engage with landlords, address their concerns and give them a reason to vote for their party. Given that much of recent politics from all sides has been anti-landlord, this would be a welcome change.
“It’s only natural for a potential change in government to raise concerns. In fact, we’re seeing this across lots of different industries and sectors as we all try and predict what changes in policy, regulation and central funding, for example will mean for us. It’s important for landlords to remember that the buy-to-let market has survived countless crises, regime changes and new governments. Furthermore, it has continued to thrive with lenders ready and willing to lend, and talented brokers able to support landlords in seizing the opportunities that are still out there.”
