Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says the government is “thinking carefully” about what more it can do for private tenants, especially after the eviction moratorium finishes.
Jenrick, addressing the House of Commons yesterday afternoon, responded to a series of questions from Labour MPs about tenants potentially running up arrears.
The housing secretary said that the moratorium expired at the end of June; shortly before that time he would make a decision based on the state of the market, medical advice about progress in combating Coronavirus, and any court information about evictions.
One Labour member - veteran MP Clive Betts, who is also chair of the housing select committee - said that in Spain there was a low-interest loan system for private tenants to ensure they and their landlords were in a position to honour rent payments. Betts asked if a similar scheme could be considered in the UK too.
Jenrick did not reject the idea outright and said he and the government were “thinking carefully” about next steps that could help tenants who may be in arrears.
The tone of the answers from the housing secretary suggested there were unlikely to be new announcement on this before the start of next month at the earliest.
In response to this Dan Wilson Craw, director of Generation Rent, says: "Lifting restrictions on the lettings market is welcome for thousands of renters who have been stuck in unsuitable homes. But a reopened housing market cannot be an excuse to lift the evictions ban which is in force until late June.
"Despite the furlough and increased housing benefit, 2.6m private renters are at risk of arrears with no way of paying them off once the economy recovers. Just a third of landlords have offered flexibility on rent payments, so most of these renters will face eviction as soon as the ban is lifted.
"The worry and stress of the pandemic is giving renters sleepless nights. Many have difficult decisions to make right now. If Robert Jenrick is developing a plan that will reassure them, we need to know what it is urgently."
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Is it just me or do others think that Craw is one of the biggest enemies of tenants?
No, John, most sensible people think that.
Landlords actually need help !
I was in court with a tenant week prior to lock down and awarded my property back , Iv not received a letter from the courts for 8 weeks now to inform me of the situation , he should of been evicted 6 weeks ago not no bailiff letter has arrived , so now he will be 14 months in arrears and possible longer !
Tenants know there is nothing we can do , if furlong is being paid surely 80per cent of rent must be payable , and the courts act of this start away if we are not paid!
Where is the government help for us ! Iv paid huge taxes however we are treated like a second class citizens these days !
About time we received some respect instead of money grabbing people , Iv worked extremely hard to build my portfolio and Always worked full time also, I respect most of my tenants and work closely with them , this UC has been the worst thing for my tenants and myself the old system sitting with a advisers and us all understanding what’s happening was fabulous , I work mainly with vulnerable people, and Boris first speak did it we shall not be evicting anyone , Facebook was busy , we don’t have to pay our landlords !! Cheers whose payer our bank loans and buy to let Mortage’s and council tax for empty homes which were getting ready prior to this,
Moan over
Amanda
Absolutely Amanda, and I try my absolute best.
I'm forever 'banging this drum' on my facebook page ( see - follow ) @possessionfriend
I suggest you pay a visit to your Essex Drive property. The state of it is absolutely disgusting.
However virtuous Landlords think they may or may not be, they are the eternal enemies of tenants. It Landlord and Tenant, let us not forget, is confrontation by a different name. I suspect the percentage of tenants who fall into arrears and have no ability to pay is enormous. A solution is needed but don't expect Government to help out.
Not wanting to be a downer, but I do wonder how Bailiffs will be able to do their job and take possession in the new social distance world.
Knock knock. Who is it? The Bailiff!
Mr Bailiff i wasn't feeling too well the past few days as I have been coughing and have a fever. Could you kindly come back next week.
Same old claptrap about how bad landlords are then Mark? How exactly are we the 'eternal enemy of tenants' then?
Is that why I have so many tenants that have been with me more than a decade? Is that why I'm the next-of-kin and executor of one tenant's will? Is that why I took one guy off the streets and later when he wanted to start his own business I lent him the money? (Note here that I never got it back because he died suddenly from a heart attack)
You really are clueless on this subject but glad to see you understand exactly what will happen when the bailiffs call. It was already happening before the lockdown took place.
It must be terrible for you Mark being all consumed by jealousy and self loathing at your own failure and the success of other hard working, decent people.
The arrears position is not enormous .. over our many hundreds of properties less that 5% have issues and most of them are under control .. my counterparts report similar numbers ... maybe speak to people in the sector and you will be better informed
Yes James.
I wrote to the tenants that I manage myself (some managed by agents) and said that if they had any problems whatsoever in paying their rent then please contact me. We would work something out together. I've often had cases where people lose jobs and whilst they're getting back on their feet I find them easy maintenance tasks to do.
I was particularly concerned for a couple of HMO tenants, one of which works in the hospitality. Not one of them has come back to me and all are paying their rents. They're good people and I treat them as I would like to be treated myself.
Can I ask you something please Mark,
I've been reading some quite annoyed contributors here on a number of your comments for a couple of weeks, and I just wondered if you could clarify -
Are you a landlord, if not, what is your interest in the subject please ?
He's a London based surveyor PF. Constantly demonises landlords and blames us for property price inflation and therefore ignores facts as they get in the way.
It hadn't occurred to me until Richard pointed out above that he may be driven by jealousy.
Ah, a surveyor! No doubt one of those that calls agents asking for comparables . . .
We had an incidence of suspected COVID19 and insisted on immediate testing being carried out for both tenants. The tests proved that they were free of COVID19, thankfully! This was not a case of an eviction, just making sure we knew what to expect for the rest of the house-mates in an HMO. Social distancing continued to be practiced via a tenants WhatsApp group so they would let each other know when they were in the bathrooms or kitchen.
John, do you really think that your tenants feel a pride in having to go to work and hand over a large part of their net pay to you? Maybe poll them.
Also, I wonder why do you apply everything in such a personal perspective? Please don't put words in my mouth as I never say Landlords are bad. It has nothing to do with it.
Mark what relevance has pride got to do with anything? It is a simply daft remark, which you have a habit of making.
You are fully aware that you constantly attack all landlords. I use personal examples to demonstrate that you know very little about what actually goes on.
I think you'll find that most people don't like handing over chunks of their income for ANYTHING.
They would much prefer stuff was free.
But that isn't how society works.
The fact that accommodation is an imperative for most people involves them passing over substantial amounts of their income for that accommodation.
Nobody forces tenants to sign a Tenancy Agreement.
Personally I really resent the price of fuel.
But I accept the price is as it is and if I wish to travel then I need to buy the stuff.
I don't resent the fuel retailers rather I blame Govt for the high duty it adds to fuel.
But we are where we are with that.
A LL having accommodation available and offered is an invitation to treat.
People aren't forced to become tenants.
It is their choice!
The market however constructed will determine the price that might be achieved.
It is NOT the fault of LL that the market is the way it is.
LL have no alternative than to deal with the market as it is.
It maybe that market is expensive.
Well that is just TOUGH.
All parties have to cope with the prevailing market.
It seems you consider that tenants shouldn't have to and be entitled to accommodation at less than market cost so they will feel more kindly over paying anything to a LL.
In short mate you are one weirdo!!
Tenants should be grateful that private individuals are providing them the option of somewhere to live other than a cardboard box or flea ridden hostel. There simply aren't enough social homes to meet the demand. PRS landlords are not going to take the risks and carry put the work they do unpaid - they could quite easily put their money elsewhere, where would these people live then? So tenants have 3 choices, either stop buying unnecessary items, start saving and buy themselves their own property, move into said cardboard box (if they can't persuade their local council to find them something) or continue payng rent to their PRS landlord.
Putting it slightly differently to you ( but on a very similar theme ) I do think most people in society, both Landlords tenants and everyone else, still have a sense of pride and respect for themselves as well as others. Most of my Tenants have, so why should a minority get away with not playing 'fair' - by the rules ?
So yes Mark, I think the vast majority of society do hold their heads up in that they can apply for credit, or employment or a number of other scenarios where their credit rating and consequently their self-respect is in tact.
Don't you agree ?
Mr Wilson you are a complete twit, now repeat after me” I am going to stop being an absolute twit and start looking for some common sense, I agree I have been a total nob and now understand that professional LLs are running a business not a charity, they help when they can but also have mortgages maintenance sc and grs and insurance to pay for and can not provide free accommodation, what a stupid fool I have been and I now promise to only put sensible comments”
Steve, I think you are the twit because you are agreeing with me! Being a Landlord is indeed only a business, I agree. One thing for sure it is not an activity that sets you up for canonization, which is what some on here allude to. The easy money has been made in BTL, Government and public opinion has turned against the sector and is unlikely to come back regardless of the moaning and self interest rhetoric published on sites like this.
It amazes me how some react to what I post as it is only the obvious and self evident. It is not attacking it is just how it is. The speculative commercial activity of BTL has contributed to house inflation, thanks to the creation of the AST, which has till now guaranteed VP. Tenants would rather be Landlords as would employees rather be employers.
As to a question on my interest in the sector, I have detailed my experience in my profile. I am a chartered surveyor who has been in business for nearly 40 years.
We could run a sweep stake on where the sector is going if you like. I think i see what is coming.
Mad-mark (or maybe just Delusional-Wilson): what you do (whether consciously or not) IS attacking and is NOT "just how it is".
You are wrong again, and have been all along.
Mr Craw is being somewhat disingenuous.
I have never met any tenant who complied with a S21.
They all wait until the day before eviction.
Some of these evictions are progressed a lot faster by transferring to the HCEO.
This often catches out feckless tenants as seen on Can't Pay when the tenants always say they are waiting for eviction which they know would take many more months to achieve.
The HCEO route always surprises these feckless tenants in that no notification is required by HCEO to evict.
It should be a standard protocol that LL should have the option once a PO has been granted to immediately instruct a HCEO without having to seek permission from a County Court DJ.
Yes it would be a more expensive option but far more effective than a County Court particularly as what remaining County Courts there are will be overwhelmed by other LL seeking evictions.
The process is projected to take at least 18 months using a County Court.
The facility of HCEO could save many LL from bankruptcy in facilitating timely eviction so that eviction could take just weeks after a PO had been EVENTUALLY obtained.
So there is no need to stop evictions.
Most of them won't occur til well into next year!!
The likes of Shelter and GR continue to put out the propaganda that tenants can be evicted with just 2 months notice.
That would be correct if tenants complied with S21 notices.......................but of course few EVER do!!
As the default response of most tenants is to ignore S21 notices then Shelter etc should really quote actually how long it takes on average to evict which is roughly 7 months.
This period is when normal times are around.
We DON'T have normal times with mass rent defaulting no matter the reason for it.
LL must be offered a method to get rid of rent defaulting tenants quickly.
Their very survival depends on being able to do so.
There seems to be a bizarre concept in society that tenants should not be required to or even consider saving.
Any OO would be expected to save to make mortgage payments in the event of income loss.
At least 9 months of savings as it is only after 9 months that OO may apply for a DWP loan to pay mortgage payments but only for defined amounts and only the interest element of a mortgage at a restricted IR.
The idea that tenants should be financially responsible and attempt a degree of financial resilience to cover sudden income loss for some reason doesn't seem to be expected by society.
OO YES; tenants NO.
Instead it seems tenants should expect a LL savings to cover for the tenant fecklessnses
Again
Why!?
It seems tenants are to be regarded as children too stupid to determine that it might be useful for them to have savings to cover their domestic costs in case of sudden income loss.
I DON'T understand where this societal expectation of tenants not having savings comes from.
But it is expected that LL should have savings to cover for feckless tenants.
I know of no other service supplier that is expected to pay for the service user to continue to use the service when they can't or won't pay for that service.
A most bizarre societal concept.
It seems as soon as you become a tenant you can live a feckless spend it all just in time lifestyle in the knowledge that if you run out of money the LL will be there to provide free accommodation which is enforced in law until relevant legal processes have been fully utilised.
I've been somewhat luckier than you Paul. It's been years since I've been to Court but have never got to the stage of requiring bailiffs. I thought I was going to have to go down that route on one occasion with an ex offender. I've twice let HMO rooms to ex cons and on both occasions it's bitten me on the backside with arrears.
This guy was a massive bloke and all muscle. He told me outright that the bailiffs would be up for a fight if they tried to evict him and they wouldn't succeed.
Then the night before the court hearing he texted me to say he'd moved out. Whilst I didn't get to the house to check before I went to the Court, I told the Judge and he gave me 'Possession Forthwith'. I have to say I was quite taken aback with that. Never had one granted as easily and as fast.
@john McKay
Yep never experienced 18 month eviction.
10 months has been the max on some of my 5 evictions to date.
The losses I incurred mean I will never make a profit as long as I live!!
How I wish I had bought just one mortgage free house..............which I could have done............................ ................Doh!!
I readily admit when I started out I knew absolutely nothing about the eviction process.
In hindsight I do consider that I was a bit of an idiot!!
But hey that bitter pill has been taken and learnt from.
So now I'm trying to reduce properties to attain that nirvana of one unencumbered house.
Doubt I'll achieve it for a few years yet but that is my aspiration.
I certainly have no further aspiration to house 16 occupants in nice properties anymore!!
The eviction risk is now too high.
I simply could not sustain rent defaulting on all my properties.
I'd now far rather have one unencumbered property with no real concern about the eviction process.
Yes it would be a real pain getting rid of rent defaulting tenants but at least I wouldn't ever be facing bankruptcy if unable to service the mortgage because of rent defaulting tenants.
The current mass rent defaulting and projected to be even more dysfunctional eviction process has frightened me to death.
I am simply not prepared any longer to have this bankruptcy risk hanging over me through no fault of my own.
Let some other LL have the hoped for rental income and the risks that go with needing tenants paying rent to service mortgage payments.
I say good luck to such LL whoever you are.
You are welcome to the income I attained.
Simple rule, no rent no respect no more a tenant. Never used bailiff, tenants always gone without court action,, simple rules apply and will be applied. We are professional LLs not a charity
Ahh! Yes Steve
I wish I hadn't been a law abiding LL.
Would have saved hundreds of thousands caused by rent defaulting tenants.
But silly me I followed the eviction protocols to the letter.
More fool me!!
@mark wilson
You have some very strange views which must surely feed into your day job opinions.
I sincerely hope I am never a victim of your ridiculous ideas reflected in any valuations you may give.
As far as I am aware no commenting LL are seeking sainthood!
Quite simply like any other business they expect to provide a service which people hopefully use and then the LL expects to be paid the agreed price for the service.
NO sainthood required!
Just a service provided with NO guaranteed expectation that a LL accommodation service will be used.
So like most business a gamble or as you call it speculative.
So basically that is EVERY business.
I've never come across a normal business that doesn't seek to speculate out of prices for all things.
I personally would have nothing to do with any business that didn't seek to speculate out of what it was doing.
A small question for you.
If LL had not invested their capital in rental property any idea where the results of MASS UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION would have lived.
Millions have arrived mostly housed by private LL who through their own efforts have managed to resource rental properties.
It matters NOT how these rental properties were resourced.
The fact that somebody took the risk to do so is the point.
The housing market is a product of so many things.
LL however are certainly NOT to blame for the market being as it is.
Many LL have in fact been the catalyst for new properties.
You truly show your ridiculous colours when you quote the AST introduction as being responsible for the ills of the housing market.
It was the AST which very effectively housed millions of people who would otherwise have nowhere to live.
I'm sure you remember the bad old days of rent controls and regulated tenancies.
Or would as I suspect you do wish for those days to return!?
If they do expect to see millions of homeless tenants.
You wouldn't seriously expect anyone to invest in such a market unless they were cash rich.
God knows how you have remained a surveyor for 40 years with your bonkers views!?
I also strongly suspect that you have socialist leanings and as such that makes you not fit to be a surveyor or commenting on PRS issues.
Spot on Paul! Indeed masses of properties have been added to usable housing stock. One EHS report indicated that landlords were responsible for 83% of those additions over the time period it covered.
Moving on, on Mr Wilson's website he touts for business from landlords. It must hurt him dearly to take their money.
I’ve no idea why mark wastes his time trolling a Lettings agents platform .. clearly has a lot of time on his hands
"Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says the government is “thinking carefully” about what more it can do for private tenants" NOT A DAMN WORD ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR LANDLORDS!
You probably are astute enough to know that Govt won't be 'GIVING' any financial assistance to small private LL.
Can you imagine the teeth gnashing that would occur from the likes of Shelter and GR et al if Govt announced rather than fund workers who are tenants directly they would require such tenants to advise of the rent payment to then arrange for that LL to be paid the FULL CONTRACTUAL RENT directly.
The lefties would be up in arms that Govt was facilitating rent being paid without intervention by the tenant!!
All sorts of stuff from the likes of the Guardian
'Govt assisting LL to profit from tenant furloughed wages!!'
You just know the guff they'd come out with!!
Hell will freeze over before Govt gives direct assistance to LL like it has workers.
They certainly will NOT assist LL to get hold of furloughed wages to ensure rent is paid.
As you and I and probably every LL is aware of and that is we are on our OWN!!!
This status is highly unlikely to change despite the efficacy of it being so.
PS. I don't think in recent years the government has "Thought Carefully" about ANYTHING, least of all the PRS!
Moving forward I will only be accepting corporate PAYE tenants who can qualify for RGI insurance.
It seems probable that these pandemics will reoccur on the future and only corporate PAYE workers were helped properly and quickly enough.
I admire LLs who house benefit claimants but what with the expected changes to evictions & end of the AST I think landlords need to think carefully about what sort of tenants they want to house.
By every interference of the Government, there are less and less Tenants at the riskier end of the spectrum that will be offered accommodation in the PRS.
I've just rented a property that previously I have let to tenants on benefit, - to a working family who were the ' 79 th ' applicants.
Crack on Shelter and MHCLG, one day the majority of Tenants will realise that its only criminal tenants that are benefiting at the expense of 95% of lawfully compliant Tenants. !
Dan Wilson Craw, very apt name since he certainly sticks in mine.
He claims, without any evidence whatsoever, that there are “thousands of renters stuck in unsuitable homes”. Craw doesn’t even say why they are unsuitable. That could be because the tenant is in a property now too small for their expanding family, but that would not permit him to imply that the landlord is at fault.
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