Meet the Speakers: Zoopla's Richard Donnell on why landlords should not fear the Renters' Rights Bill
Leading market analyst Richard Donnell of property platform Zoopla is one of the speakers at the NRLA Landlord Conference in November. He talks to Sanjeev Shetty about why good landlords do not need to fear legislation change.
“If you’re a long-term landlord, in it for the long haul, you don’t have much to fear with the reforms." So says Richard Donnell, who will be addressing the 2024 NRLA Landlord Conference in Birmingham this Autumn.
A 25-year veteran of the industry, Richard is the director of research at Zoopla, and thinks it is important for landlords and investors to steer clear of misinformation about the market and the future of the sector.
“There’s lot of noise, misinformation in terms of the way the private rented sector is discussed in the media, which isn’t exactly helpful” he says. “Despite the growing population and number of people looking to rent properties, he number of social rented homes in this country has been the same for 30 years. This has increased pressure on the PRS, which does all the heavy lifting.”
Advice
During some uncertain times for the sector, Richard’s advice to landlords in it for the long term is to ignore house price growth and focus on cashflow.
He also said its easy to forget that the PRS is comprised of many people who never envisaged becoming a landlord.
He said: “35% of landlords bought their first rental property as somewhere to live in. They never got into the sector as a business, however the reality is that being a landlord today is a business. However what I would say is that even with higher mortgage rates and all the additional rules and regulations that are coming down the line, the PRS is still a great place to be.
More information
Tickets for the NRLA Conference 2024, which will be held at Birmingham’s NEC are now on sale. Featuring a keynote speech from former Dragon’s Den star James Caan, the event will welcome experts from across the industry to discuss all the issues affecting you and your businesses as well as a networking lunch. Doors open at 8.15am for a 9am start with the day set to end shortly after 5pm. For more information and to reserve your place, click here
To read more on the thoughs of industry expert and fellow conference speaker, Paul Shamplina click here.
