Many in the landlord community viewed Ed Miliband's proposals for the private rented sector prior to the May elections with derision and, after a short post-election honeymoon period, we have been digesting surprise tax changes from George Osborne's Summer Budget. Next up has been the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader, described by party heavyweight Lord Faulkner as 'a political earthquake.' In the run up to the May 2015 election National Landlords Association colleagues and I jousted through a string of media interviews rebutting proposals for increased regulation. I remember on more than one occasion Corbyn would make his usual call from the side-lines for rent control and in my thoughts I'd dismiss his interjection as the voice of somebody who would never hold power. Now he is leader of Her Majesty's opposition!

As Corbyn formed his new shadow cabinet, we witnessed a cobbling together of those few hard-line left-wingers in the parliamentary Labour Party and other people whom he could persuade to work with him. There remains much confusion about how much of Corbyn's ideas will actually become official Labour Party policy that the front bench must adhere to. The new leader is a maverick, conviction politician with a solid record of not sticking to the party line. Many believe his survival until the 2020 general election is in doubt due to poor devolved and local election results and a lack of leadership skills. Indeed, in the first YouGov poll, after he was elected as leader, only 17% of the public said that they could see him becoming Prime Minister. Even if Corbyn doesn't make it to power, given the surge of enthusiasm for him in the Labour movement, to what extent might his ideas and prominence change attitudes to the private rented sector and housing? Let's take a look at Corbyn's housing policy document, issued in August 2015.