Politics, politics, politics (so long and thanks for all the fish)

[Gutter Boy]

I’m surprised, thought he was doing an impressive job myself.

No idea really. Foreign policy seems pretty straightforward at the moment - friends and enemies are mostly pretty clear. Perhaps he's been seen as too close to America (the Vance vomfest) and Israel for mainstream tastes?

 

[Gutter Boy]

Rent isn't about the value of the property though as the value of the property is ultimately what people are willing to pay for it or how much a bank values it as security for a loan. Lots of rental properties are in areas that are less desirable and so values are depressed but the maintenance of the property doesnt reduce and from my experience the maintenance costs for a rental property as a landlord are far higher than the maintenance costs of your own home.

For example:
- You have to get an annual gas safety check done.
- You have to have fire extinguishers and blankets and annual smoke alarm tests
- new safety regulations came in for rental properties that said hand rails had to be fitted to all stair cases so I had to get them fitted for cost of about £650
- Tenant complained about damp so had damp surveyor go out at cost of £300 for report. Turns out it was condensation caused by tenant taping over the trickle vents in all the windows and theyd also fired expandable foam into all the air bricks as they didn't want to use the central heating in winter and were trying to get of any draft.
- Cost me £500 to have the air bricks unblocked. They then disputed their bond not being returned and the tribunal ruled that I could only deduct the £500 repair cost from the bond and not the £300 survey fee...I was like HOW? If they hadn't done that I wouldnt have had to get the damp surveyor in the first place?
- Another tenant moved out and left a cracked window and claimed it cracked in the frost. Again tribunal said I couldnt deduct from bond.
So rent has to account for the maintenance of the property not the market value.

I understand. But the purpose would be to make it unviable. To drive the properties out of the private sector into the public. The rent cap is just a device to make that happen, whilst creating a bit of a short term ramp off for the effected individuals

 

[Rorschach]

No idea really. Foreign policy seems pretty straightforward at the moment - friends and enemies are mostly pretty clear. Perhaps he's been seen as too close to America (the Vance vomfest) and Israel for mainstream tastes?

They are all in bed with Israel, to their shame.

 

[Rorschach]

Why was there a reshuffle?