Phil Spencer feels that landlords being driven out of the property market has created a ‘vicious spiral’ for both them and tenants.
The property expert and broadcaster, who founded the business Garrington Home Finders in 1996, has spent the previous two decades on our screens as the host of Location, Location, Location and Love It or List It.
Spencer is credited with being one of the first property specialists to specialised in protecting the rights of buyers and tenants, but he is presently concerned about what he is watching.
Spencer has been at the Ideal Home Show this week, speaking to guests in a series of sessions geared at first-time home buyers.
While many people are concerned about the expense of living, Spencer believes that buy-to-let mortgages are more concerning.
He said that, while there wasn’t much sympathy for landlords, he believed they were also being treated unfairly.
‘I’m particularly worried about the rental market at the moment because tenants are having it really hard because of a lack of choice, which produces inflated rents,’ he exclusively told Metro.co.uk.
‘It’s good for landlords and is bad for tenants, but that’s actually come about as a result of what is bad for landlords.
‘I’m trying to get people to appreciate is that what is bad for landlords – which is that the tax rules have changed and buy-to-let is not generally an attractive investment – but the changes make it hard to make money which means there are less landlords.
‘Existing landlords are selling up, and new landlords aren’t coming into the market.’
He added: ‘Nobody has sympathy for landlords, and I completely get that, but the result of that is that there are less places to rent for tenants and rents are rising hugely.’
‘It’s a vicious circle and I see that as a real worry for society.’
Spencer has spent years hosting house shows with Kirstie Allsopp and pushing people to buy new homes, but he admits he can’t stomach the process of moving himself.
‘I hate it,’ he laughed.
‘I’ve always been a big believer of when you are moving, think long term and plan carefully, research, prepare, and think it through and get it right…and then don’t move for a long time.
‘I’ve been where I am for nine years, and I hope to do another 10 at least. I move around a lot for my work, which is a great privilege to travel the country and look at all different types of houses and prices, but I find moving stressful, expensive, and time-consuming.’
But, for those wanting to purchase, develop, or renovate, Spencer said the Ideal Home Show gave plenty of inspiration.
‘I look forward to it every year. It is so inspiring, there is always lots of cutting-edge design and technology for the house and it’s an opportunity to see what is coming around the corner,’ he said.
He added that in the past few years we had ‘asked so much more of our homes and spent so much time in them’, which meant we had not only developed a newfound appreciation but were reconsidering design details that could be adjusted to fit individual lifestyles.
‘As a result of that I think people are now spending more time at home and are liking it … and therefore they come to shows like this to get ideas,’ he said.
The Ideal Home Show is running until April 2.
Location, Location, Location and Love It or List It are streaming on All4.