Responding to this evening's announcement, Dan Wilson Craw - the director of campaigning group Generation Rent - says: "It’s a relief that the government has listened to renters’ concerns and is extending the ban. Renters who have lost income in the past few months are extremely worried about losing their home as a result. The government has averted a homelessness crisis - for now.
"But with holes in the housing safety net and much of the economy still in lockdown, millions of renters will get further behind on rent. Not all of them can rely on their landlord’s goodwill and so need further help with rent, and assurance that they can stay in their homes beyond the summer. The government must use the time it has bought itself to develop a long term solution to provide rent relief and end unfair evictions for good. "
And the government has this evening issued its full statement to back up the Jenrick tweet. The statement says:
Millions of renters across England and Wales will receive greater protection after the government extended the suspension of new evictions until 23 August.
The extension announced by the Housing Secretary today (5 June 2020) takes the moratorium on evictions to a total of five months to ensure that renters continue to have certainty and security.
Ministers are also working with the judiciary, legal representatives and the advice sector on arrangements, including new rules, which will mean that courts are better able to address the need for appropriate protection of all parties, including those shielding from coronavirus. This is to ensure that judges have all the information necessary to make just decisions and that the most vulnerable tenants can get the help they need.
Where tenants do experience financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic, the government is clear that landlords and tenants should work together and exhaust all possible options – such as flexible payment plans which take into account a tenant’s individual circumstances – to ensure cases only end up in court as an absolute last resort.
Over the coming weeks, the government is taking careful steps to ease lockdown measures, alongside decisive steps already taken to unlock the housing market so people can move if they need to – for example where they may need to move for work or for family reasons.
While the government is taking unprecedented action to protect tenants and landlords during these times, the ultimate ambition is to transition out of these measures at the end of August to allow the market to operate while ensuring people have appropriate access to justice.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
We have provided an unprecedented package of support for renters during this pandemic. Today, I am announcing that the government’s ban on evictions will be extended for another 2 months. That takes the moratorium on evictions to a total of 5 months.
Eviction hearings will not be heard in courts until the end of August and no-one will be evicted from their home this summer due to coronavirus.
We are also working with the judiciary on proposals to ensure that when evictions proceedings do recommence, arrangements, including rules, are in place to assist the court in giving appropriate protections for those who have been particularly affected by coronavirus – including those tenants who have been shielding.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland QC MP, said:
Protecting vulnerable people has been our priority throughout this pandemic. Extending this ban will give people invaluable security in these turbulent times and work continues at pace to ensure vulnerable renters remain protected long after the ban ends.
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The government has averted a homelessness crisis - for now. And passed the buck, hardship and worry onto hard working taxpaying landlords. Well done !!!
Yes and Govt knows full well that due to the dysfunctional eviction process and County Court closures it could easily be a minimum of a year before tenants can be evicted.
So that is leaving LL a year to provide FREE accommodation for feckless rent defaulting tenants.
How many LL will still be owners of their mortgaged rental properties a year from now!?
Only if such LL have some very deep pockets will they manage to pay the mortgage in the absence of rent.
I would suggest that many feckless rent defaulting tenants will find themselves evicted very quickly by the lender rather than the LL as the lender repossesses the property.
BTL lenders are NOT known for their forbearance!!
Plus of course any LL repossessed will be having any other properties taken from them to cover any shortfalls on the repossessed property mortgage.
So other tenants will be affected who will perhaps be managing to pay their rent.
Rent defaulting tenants causing rent paying tenants to be evicted along with LL being made homeless.
All caused by one rent defaulting tenant!!!
Govt doesn't mention any of this because it knows LL will do their level best to avoid being repossessed.
But due to the amounts that will be involved it will be simply unsustainable for many LL
Quite unbelievable, assume there is no support for landlords carrying the tenants for free ? Maybe it’s the government chance to destroy a few more landlords and send more packing out the market
We have a Tenant who has not paid since JAN and is now looking at 8 months free till AUG, then the court process to regain possession which is likely to be chaotic so 3 - 6 months on top.
Meanwhile the Landlord's partner has just lost his job due to Coronavirus and they now have to pay their own rent, the property mortgage and support 2 young children on one income while the high earning Tenant and his wife have the best free ride of their life. Incidentally he is currently furloughed, oh the irony.
Surely there should be a caveat whereby pre-existing arrears can be processed?
Get in touch, I offer Free advice
Yep Govt is desperate to get rid of mortgaged LL.
It will deal with unmortgaged LL later on.
CV19 could prove to be a far more successful mortgaged LL eradication policy than S24 will ever be.
Plus all that CGT that Govt will be receiving from the forced sales of repossessed properties.
Whatever way you look at it the Govt wins.
Of course the question has to be begged of where all the removed tenants will go.
Can't see many of them remaining in these repossessed properties.
This all out financial assault on LL is disgusting.
But of course Govt knows they will lose NO political capital by hitting LL.
Indeed they may gain some.
Everyone loves to kick a LL!!
The more this goes on, the more the Courts and the Govt., back themselves into a corner when attempting to lift the eviction ban...which will lead to its further extension!!
Weell, I blame myself for voting for this shower! I had planned to sell if Corbyn got in. Now its looks as if I will have to sell BECAUSE Boris got in.
No matter how long the Govt prevaricate and frustrate Possession, there will be a day of reckoning - afterwards.
When Landlords do get the Freeloaders out ( and I think quite a lot of Landlords will work with genuine Tenants who look after the property and have been stella payers ) there will be some serious re-adjustment of what tenants ever get considered for even a viewing. !
Guarantors will be sought, hardly any benefit Tenants will be taken ( certainly not without a Guarantor ) and social media checks, last 2 Landlord references.
The dross tenants will be lumbered onto the Local Authority who will learn the hard way what kind of tenants they've been passing off to Landlords in the past.
Any professional landlord who lets to benefit tenants in the future will deserve everything that happens to them.
It extends beyond that, Lyndon. I’m the second largest provider of PRS property to benefit recipients (not through choice, but that’s the local demographic). They’re largely unaffected by the current crisis and once you have everything down to a tee, it’s no drama to a professional LL. I share the sentiment that we, collectively, need to ensure the dross of whatever persuasion, stays the LA’s problem.
And of course Councils will be desperate for TA for these evicted or otherwise homeless tenants.
If a LL chooses to offer a rental property as TA at obviously vastly increased TA rates it could even be possible that an evicted tenant could return to the same rental property they have just been evicted from now that it is TA with the Council now paying substantially higher TA rates!!
It's a sound business model for Councils who have bottomless pits of Council tax payers money to pay for expensive TA.
With all this talk about the problems Govt is causing LL with the eviction ban another completely innocent business victim of these rent defaulting tenants is of course the poor old LA.
In the absence of rent from feckless rent defaulting tenants I presume LA aren't able to take their monthly management fee.
One presumes that such LA victims would stop providing the contracted services to a LL if no rent is being paid.
I doubt many LL have contracts with LA that require fees to be paid if no rent is being paid.
That would be a bizarre contractual arrangement.
So with no rent coming in the LA has no income from many LL clients.
How do LA survive this predicament!?
I haven't seen mentioned anywhere in MSM about the plight of LA who obviously seek to ensure their LL clients have rent paying tenants.
But they are now prevented from achieving this by this ridiculous eviction ban.
So as well as LL being bankrupted the same could happen to LA!!
I don't believe Govt has fully thought through the ramifications of this avowedly populist eviction ban policy.
The overall economic damage that feckless rent defaulting tenants are causing to the general economy are enormous.
LA in particular are totally dependent on a correctly functioning market for their business to remain viable.
What we DEFINITELY don't have currently is a properly functioning market!!!
Govt has very effectively nationalised any rental property where no rent is being paid for at least a year at zero cost to the Govt.
Some might call it daylight robbery by Govt.
The LL haters would call it LL receiving their just desserts and therefore devoid of any sympathy for their plight whatsoever.
Perhaps LL should be forced to wear a yellow house symbol on their clothing harkening back to a period when another section of society was persecuted!!
All the Govt have thought through, is how to pass the massive Rent liability of PRS Tenants during this virus, onto Private landlords, - instead of Gov stumping up for their rent.
They've effectively " sequestrated " Private rental property for rent defaulters to live in during the 5 months of virus eviction ban.
Paul, I can only speak for our agency. We are a professional agency trading for over fifteen years. Our tenants are all either employed professionals or students with guarantors. Only one asked for a rent reduction which the landlord agreed to, yet they have all paid the full rent due,
The general perception is that landlords are coining it in so deserve everything that is being thrown at them.
Will be far longer than 5 months as it will take easily over a year on from the end of the eviction ban before eviction occurs.
I suspect that this Gov't having made monumental cock-ups in the PRS and the handling of the CV-19 financing the lack of PPE and numerous other areas they expect to be voted out at the next GE.
Whoever then gets voted in next time will have the dubious pleasure of sorting out the mess.
The retired politician Ann Widecombe (?) stated on national T.V. that all politicians who are responsible for change hope to god that they get voted out when it comes to sorting out their mistakes. BoJo seems to have plenty of those ready to hit the fan.
Just had 3 Ryanair csbincrew vacate so need new occupants.
Will I be asking the Council if they have any tenants for me?......................err NO not on your Nelly!!!
Rather keep the flat empty.
I'm sure someone not reliant on UC will come along soon.
An unbelievable whammy from the government. No thought what so ever .. a blanket ban hasn’t worked so far and it about to make an entire private rented sector walk away... consideration should have been given to those claims which have nothing to do with coronavirus
Sarah, I own, co-own and manage seven properties as well as working part-time for an agency I set up with a friend. Of my own there are currently two empty and a third will be next month. Nearly every enquiry is a benefit tenant, but there is no way I will take them since the odds are stacked against landlords and very much in favour of the tenants.
At leas of a professional tenant goes into arrears you can issue a moneyclaimonline since they seem to be still working. With benefit tenants landlords have no hope, particularly at the moment. Even before this we all knew councils told their tenants to stay put until the bailiffs arrived or they will regard them as intentionally homeless. Yet the councils still wonder why the majority of landlords want nothing to do with them.
I mentioned on this site months ago that I had heard the German government were considering a similar action of banning evictions till 2021. No idea what they did.
In the UK, if you take into account that Government would prefer a build to rent type letting market, with institutional Landlords, rather than mum and pop set ups, measures like this eviction extension are easier to address, and are far less personal.
The corona virus crisis has lead to problems for BTL investors that they never considered. The problem is amplified by the fact that many of these players have associated borrowing costs that need servicing. Borrowing by its very nature amplifies risk, which is why Joe public is advised never to borrow to buy shares. Banks lend on property but the underlying risk is with the borrower.
The issue here is one of need and who is more deserving: Tenants need homes, even in these crazy times, whilst, on the other hand, some Landlords need money (rent) to pay the debts that facilitate market speculation.
I am sympathetic to both, but not in equal share.
Hardly market speculation !!
LL invest their capital to provide a service which they expect to generate an income from paid for by a user.
Just like a supermarket.
The only speculation is that of providing the service the LL hopes that his offer to treat will be taken up by someone.
Of course there is NO guarantee that this would occur but that is the case for any business.
This is of course the risk that ALL capitalists take.
However most business operates on the basis that it has the ability to operate.
LL are the ONLY business that is being prevented from operating without compensation from Govt.
.
The normal rules of capitalism have been suspended with everyone else apart from LL receiving compensation.
That is downright unfair.
All LL ask for is for a fully functional market.
That means the ability to remove occupants from their properties if refusing to pay rent.
LL must be allowed the opportunity to service their costs.
Govt has prevented this with the eviction ban.
Govt seems to expect that LL have magic money trees!!
If Govt wishes to assist the jobless who have been caused by this CV19 thing then let the full contractual rent be paid by Govt directly to the LL as part of their furloughed wages or just paying the rent .
All business operates on leverage.
LL are currently the only ones that are being forced by Govt to provide a free service.
This is outrageous behaviour by Govt.
The eviction law should be immediately suspended to allow all LL who wish; to IMMEDIATELY remove any rent defaulting tenant.
Govt is effectively using Private LL leverage to house tenants for free.
I doubt any LL expected their leverage would ever be effectively co-opted to provide free accommodation for their tenants by LL banning eviction.
LL are very effectively being prevented from operating as true capitalists and yet they are still expected to provide a service without being paid for it.
Truly and utterly bonkers!
This situation is simply unsustainable and evictions will still occur though many will be by lenders as they repossess LL properties who have been unable to pau the mortgage due to rent defaulting tenants who can't be evicted currently.
The intent of the eviction ban is to keep tenants in their rental properties.
But the eviction ban is guaranteeing that they will be eventually evicted if LL receive no rent.
Leveraged LL which are 50% of the PRS simply cannot sustain their accommodation offer without rent being paid.
Could the UK cope with 50% of LL properties being repossessed!?
I think not!
Govt should do the responsible thing and pay LL their rent while the eviction ban is in place.
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