Autumn has seen the usual round of political party conferences and  the launch of the 2015 election campaign. What does this bode for landlords and how should you be adapting your business? First a quick look at the context. The regulatory landscape of the private rental sector was transformed by the introduction of Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST) in 1989 and buy to let mortgages in 1996/7. It was the 2004 Housing Act that sent out the first ripples of increased regulation with a new definition of HMOs and the mandatory licensing requirement of larger HMOs. Local authorities could also introduce selective licensing designed to deal with low housing demand or anti-social behaviour as a last resort.

The London borough of Newham took these powers to mean borough wide licensing, which it introduced in 2013, followed by further borough wide schemes in Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest and Enfield. Meanwhile, Scotland introduced a national registration scheme in 2006, followed by a ban on letting agent fees and the 2013 Welsh Housing Bill proposes mandatory registration and accreditation across Wales. In 2010, the last Labour government introduced a new HMO planning use class which allowed local authorities to make article 4 directions banning shared housing. These more recent developments provide an important backdrop for the political party policies. Changes this autumn will see the introduction of landlord immigration checks - initially in the West Midlands - and a compulsory redress scheme membership for letting agents.

The 20th October 2014 Lord Ashcroft poll showed Labour at 31% with a narrow lead over Conservatives at 28%, the Lib Dems at 7% and UKIP at 18%, likely to result in a Labour and Lib Dem coalition. Housing issues that have been making the headlines over the past few months have been rising house prices and rents, particularly in London, mortgage availability, so called retaliatory evictions and a call for longer term tenancies and rent controls. The anti-landlord media bias continues, as does the small minority of criminal landlords which feeds this narrative.