European Landlords Steer Clear of Bail-Out
By: Colin Campbell
With temperatures plummeting in Britain an icy chill is also drifting around Europe. Governments across the continent are fighting off an infection that some hoped landlords and property developers in the private rental sector would help find the cure for; the ‘European contagion’.
A symptom born out of the banking crisis and subsequent recession, the ‘European contagion’ has already claimed it first victims with Greece and Ireland having to rely on a ‘bail-out’ from the members of the Euro-zone. With Ireland receiving further support from Britain due to our close trading links. The Iberian Peninsula is feared to be next, with the possibility of Italy joining them sometime soon.
European governments have looked towards the private rental sector for cash as they have found themselves frantically searching for ways to reduce their debts and head off the possibility bankruptcy. Wholesale job cuts are the preferred method of easing the public purse, but this is a long-term strategy for what can be conceived as a short-term cash crisis. Governments are trying to convince the stock markets that over time they will balance their books, but are also trying to pay the bills landing on the doormat everyday and so they’ve been forced to consider selling off state owned property.
One recent attempt to ‘free-up’ cash held in state property took place in Italy in the last month.
The Albenga Barracks are situated in the northern region of Liguria. The location and opportunity was thought to be one of the most attractive propositions for potential landlords or property developers. It was the first of a number of military properties due to be sold this year. Albenga was on the market for 40 million euro (£ 33.5 million) and along with the others for sale was hoped to bring the state a figure in the region of 100 million euro. The barracks failed to find a buyer and this has lead to fears that the government may not be able to fund it’s recovery through selling to developers in the private rental sector. Due to the global financial crisis the Italian government has been forced to cut funding to municipalities and therefore proposed allowing local governments to keep as much as 3.6 billion euro in proceeds projected from the sale of around 12,000 properties starting across the country next year. After this disappointing start the progress of the sale of Italy’s state properties will know doubt be watched with interest by the rest of Europe.
The sale of government properties was an idea muted for Britain during the first months of the coalition government. The Office for National Statistics estimates that government property is worth about £370bn, but John McCready head of the property unit ruled out large-scale asset sales for the near future by stating during Public Property Summit ‘that owning properties would give the government more flexibility to cut the public deficit’ and [the government] ‘did not want to sell properties, as it would not be able to achieve the best value in this market’.
The private rental sector will face many demands from changes in the financial and political climate over the coming years, but renting out apartments in the Houses of Parliament will not be one of them.