Green Mortgages, Tax Grabs, and Taking Out the Trash

Welcome back to The Daily Dam, folks. I’m Barry the Beaver, your favourite buck-toothed bearer of property news, and I’ve been gnawing through today’s headlines so you don’t have to. We’ve got a mixed bag today: from green property splurges to greedy tax proposals, and a Southend slumlord getting exactly what he deserves.

Grab a twig, pour yourself a coffee, and let’s get chewing.

1. Landlords Are Dropping Serious Logs on EPCs

If you thought the green revolution was just a load of hot air, think again. Landlords are starting to splash out heavily on energy-efficient homes. With the 2030 EPC rules lurking just around the riverbend, Paragon Bank has reported a spicy 7.7% increase in buy-to-let lending on EPC A-C properties.

In fact, green properties accounted for over 56% of their buy-to-let lending in the last six months. The message here is simple: landlords are wising up. If your rental leaks heat like a sieve, it’s time to start plugging the gaps. Future-proofing your portfolio now means the government won’t be gnawing at your ankles when the new regulations bite.

2. Booting Out the Bad Apples

Here is some legislation we can all get behind. The Domestic Abuse Bill is giving social landlords the teeth they need to evict perpetrators of domestic abuse from joint tenancies.

Historically, if a relationship turned violent, it was usually the victim who had to pack their bags, flee the home, and face potential homelessness just to get to safety. This new approach flips the script. It allows landlords to tear up the joint tenancy, kick the abuser out into the cold, and grant a fresh, sole lifetime tenancy to the victim. It’s a massive win for common sense and a brilliant tool for taking out the absolute trash.

3. The Taxman Wants to Gnaw on Your Rent

Just when you thought your margins couldn’t get squeezed any tighter, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has floated an absolute stinker of an idea. The left-leaning think tank is demanding that National Insurance Contributions be extended to landlords’ rental income.

They argue that it’s “unfair” for rental income to be exempt when wage-earners have to pay it, and they reckon this move could squeeze an extra £3.2 billion out of the sector. For landlords already choking on higher borrowing costs and the upcoming energy efficiency changes, this is the last thing anyone wants to hear. If they start taxing rent like a 9-to-5 wage, expect even more landlords to pack up their dams and leave the private rented sector entirely.

4. Generation Rant Strikes Again

Right on cue, activist group Generation Rent is back to banging its favourite drum: rent controls. They’ve dramatically declared yesterday as “London: Cost of Rent Day”—the completely made-up point in the year where an average renter’s income earned so far has theoretically all gone to their landlord.

They claim Londoners are coughing up 42% of their income on rent and are pleading with Mayor Sadiq Khan to put a hard cap on rent increases. What these activists conveniently ignore is that capping rents will just cause landlords to sell up, shrinking the housing pool, and making it even harder for these same tenants to find a log cabin in the first place. You can’t fix a supply shortage by punishing the suppliers, but good luck getting that through their skulls.

5. Southend Slumlord Gets His Wood Chopped

We wrap up today with a cautionary tale for the cheapskates. A Southend landlord, Samuel Nyantakyi, has been ordered to cough up over £25,000 for renting out a wildly unsafe home.

The council had already slapped a Prohibition Order on the property due to severe Category 1 and 2 hazards—meaning it was legally unfit for human habitation. Did he care? Nope. He carried on letting it to a family to line his pockets, entirely without a Selective Licence. The housing enforcement team dragged him to court, and the magistrate hit him where it hurts. Let this be a lesson: if you treat your tenants like dirt and ignore the rules, the local council will turn your bank account into sawdust.

That’s your lot for today. Keep your dams strong, your yields high, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for another bite of The Daily Dam.

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