“Disconnected from reality”: landlords and property experts slam Starmer over ‘working people’ definition

"Well, well, well. Apparently landlords just wave a magic wand and properties maintain themselves. Someone might want to tell that to the thousands of landlords juggling full-time jobs while managing their rental properties. This divisive rhetoric from the PM shows a concerning disconnect from reality. Most landlords are hardworking individuals who've invested their savings to provide essential housing, often sacrificing evenings and weekends to maintain properties and handle tenant issues. If the government continues to demonize landlords and make their lives increasingly difficult, we're heading for a deeper housing crisis. As more landlords sell up and exit the market, where exactly does the PM think their tenants will live? Magic houses conjured from thin air? This short-sighted approach risks shrinking the rental market when we desperately need more housing options, not fewer."

"As someone who’s been self-employed and a landlord for over 20 years, I can categorically say that, like many of my compatriots, I’ve worked long and very hard week in and week out. I worked for the NHS for 14 years and began to invest to safeguard my family. The Prime Minister and his cabinet are out of touch to think small business owners and landlords don’t actually work for their money. Their policies are pushing everyone to the brink when they rely on the private rental sector for much needed capacity."

"My mind is blown and I am completely baffled by Starmer’s approach today. It feels like he’s lost the plot. Landlords have been put through the wringer for years, hit with constant tax hikes and more regulations than I can count. And now, to add insult to injury, they're not even considered 'working people'? With a massive housing crisis on our hands, it’s as if he’s forgotten how crucial landlords are to keeping people housed. This government should be supporting landlords, not driving them to the edge. I don’t blame any landlord for wanting out after all this; they’re not the villains here, and the economy is already on thin ice. What is the PM even thinking? If he doesn’t get a grip, he’ll leave both the economy and the housing market in an absolute shambles. This approach is dangerous, and the fallout could be huge."

"Many of my landlord clients are full-time, it's their sole occupation. I'm baffled that landlords are not considered "working people" by this Government. Why are this group of people are consistently being victimised not just by the current Government but also by the previous one? The Private Rental Sector is hugely important to this country. Landlords are simply considered a soft target."

"The PM is completely out-of-touch and appears completely unaware of what the majority of landlords look like. Almost all of the landlords we work with are hard-working people; they have knuckled down and saved money for a buy-to-let deposit to either help provide additional monthly income or provide a lump sum in retirement when their pensions fall short. They don't live lavish lifestyles and roll around in cash at their tenants' expense, but are modest people trying to make the most of what they have. The PM is seriously missing the point and looks set to penalise working people that have tried to better themselves."

"The snubs continue to spew from the mouth of the nation’s PM in a technicolour yawn, trying not to offend anyone, but actually offending many. So many people who have worked hard for a lifetime and many who still do, all saving carefully their whole lives into savings, pensions or business, then when retired, have invested carefully again perhaps into a second property are now punished for their own life-applied austerity, risk-taking and, yes, hard work. The party in office needs to support their constituents, not alienate them."

"There are a lot of accidental landlords in the UK: they do not make a living from letting their property. This is especially the case with how interest rates have increased in the past couple of years and the increased legislation they now need to adhere to. They help ease the demand for housing greatly, so classing these people as 'not working people' and taxing them yet further will drive them to sell their property. This isn't going to help the housing crisis and will mean less taxes are paid on the rental income they generate."