Westminster Petitions on Landlord Tax Relief & Licensing

A Westminster petition protest calling on MPs to reinstate full tax relief on mortgage and other finance interest for landlords looks doomed.

The petition has clocked up 936 signatures but is short of amassing the 10,000 supporters needed to trigger a written response from the government or the 100,000 names to debate the topic in Parliament.

To gain either response, the petition needs to attract thousands of signatures by July 17, when the online campaign closes.

Petitioner sponsor Fedon Kazantzis says: "We believe removing it may entice landlords back to the market, increase availability and make rents more affordable. Landlords provide an important service, and this unfair tax has caused many to leave the sector, resulting in a shortage of rental properties and an increase in rents and homelessness."

Sign the petition calling for a government U-turn on restricting landlord finance interest.

Call to abolish selective licensing

Another petition hoping to gain a response from the government urges MPs to revoke the selective licensing of private rented homes.

Selective licensing imposed by a council requires private landlords to license private rented property
located within a designated neighbourhood. The intention is to check that rented homes are safe, meet basic standards and are properly managed.

The petition wants to revoke the current selective licensing scheme and to pause new or current schemes.

The petition says: "We think this order is insidious. We think councils may use it to implement heavy-handed measures where communities are most diverse without consideration for sensitivities of minority groups.

"We think the Renters Rights Bill provides for a Private Rented Sector database, obviating a need for such schemes."

The petition has 819 signatures and closes on October 30.

Sign the petition to revoke selective licensing.

Other open petition protests to Parliament:

• Ensure disabled residents can access their own homes 562 signatures
• Abolish estate management fees on new build estates for freehold properties 459 signatures
• Reduce stamp duty for additional property and reinstate multiple dwellings relief 54 signatures
• Introduce a new secondary property tax 50 signatures
• Impose rent caps in major cities to stop rent hikes by landlords 46 signatures
• Review the affordability of the rental market 45 signatures
• Make it a legal requirement for all landlords to hold valid building insurance 45 signatures
• Immediately ban charities issuing s 21 notices, and revoke those issued 35 signatures
• Ban insured deposit protection schemes 33 signatures
• Introduce increased regulation of letting agents 28 signatures
• Abolish Section 21 'no-fault' evictions with immediate effect 25 signatures
• Review and strengthen the enforcement of housing and equality laws in the rental sector 22 signatures
• Exempt properties rented by three unrelated people from HMO rules 21 signatures