The government’s decision to extend the current ban on evictions until the end of March has provided many tenants facing financial hardship due to the pandemic with much needed support, but more needs to be done to help landlords during these difficult times, according to Andy Halstead, HomeLet and Let Alliance CEO.
Research for the NRLA indicates that more than 800,000 renters in England and Wales have built arrears since lockdown measures started in March last year, with the scale of the rent debt crisis now engulfing the sector.
Halstead said: “Landlords face the genuine prospect that rent arrears will increase whilst the time to obtain vacant possession is climbing.
“As the UK’s National Rent Protection Scheme provider, we’ve seen an exceptional demand for our insurances that cover missed rental payments and legal costs.
“We only provide cover through professional letting agents, with the economic outlook so uncertain for many tenants; I’d strongly urge any landlords to consider their insurance needs and contact their managing agent before it’s too late.”
Without fresh government support, Halstead fears that many landlords will simply be unable to continue providing much-needed housing in the PRS.
He added: “With almost one in five people living in the private rented sector, it plays a critical role in the UK’s housing supply chain. Tenants should have the ability to rent a property at a reasonable price, whilst landlords and letting agents shouldn’t have to live in fear of future government policy.
“The continual raft of legislation seemingly favouring tenants or only pushing homeownership to capture the popular vote needs to stop. The government needs to listen to the lettings industry’s experience; landlords and letting agents want good tenants with a fair balance between all parties’ rights.”
Comments (8)
Landlords need to make homeowner working guarantors mandatory now .. those tenants who don’t have one should be using the council and housing associations who can absorb such arrears cases
I had one today who failed referencing on affordability, who went off on one that I was discriminating on her for not working. She was politely told!
Yep the mere idea that you should consider your clients from a business resilience perspective seems to have escaped your latest disgruntled idiot applicant. These idiot tenants I believe seriously consider LL as a Social Housing resource!!! The PRS is NOT a Govt created resource for the feckless to use and abuse. There will be many more disgruntled types like yours. Especially the ones that believe LL shouldn’t be permitted to refuse to let to those who have LETWA(Limited Entitlement To Welfare Assistance) This is the terminology that Social Housing providers use to decline HB claimants……………….. .DSS tenants as are generally known. As even more LL sell up there will be considerably more LL experiencing what you have. It is a racing certainty that ever more tenants will find themselves homeless as LL sell up. LL will by necessity be ever more selective on who they choose to take on as tenants. Can’t blame them as getting rid of dross tenants is a nightmare. But your applicant’s disgruntlement is typical of the entitlement that the feckless feel they have to LL properties. They DON’T seem to accept that LL have the right to do with as they please with their private assets. Govt is doing everything it can to ensure that these feckless tenant types maintain their sense of entitlement attitudes.
Pretty much sums it up yes .. the amount of tenants who get hostile when rejected via our agency is ever increasing.. they seems to assume if they feel their circumstances are fine they should be given the property no questions asked. We ask for guarantors as standard now regardless of circumstances which many are very unhappy about to say the least .. but by coincidence not one has defaulted since we began such policy
Yep I do believe when tenants are forced to have considerable skin in the game they automatically tend to become responsible…………………………..funny that!! Having RGI on them and a guarantor also wonderfully concentrates a tenant’s mind. But I would never be a guarantor for anyone knowing the considerable pitfalls of being one. Of course the simplest method of enforcing responsibility on tenants to pay their rent is to facilitate immediate removal from a property after 2 months of rent default with no court action required and with Police assistance if the tenants refuse to vacate. Magically tenants would pay their rent. But that will never occur as it would be politically unacceptable for the Govt to be exposed to how many feckless and subsequently homeless tenants there are.
correct as generation rent command so much power as a voting block government will never do what’s right and proper for self preservation … politicians have no interest is what’s right or wrong anymore it’s what wins votes and as tenants outnumber landlords 10-1 we have no chance of anything being done in our favour hence the relentless procession of policies hammering landlords to appease tenants … landlords just need to up their game if they propose to stay in it and that can only be done by security. Sadly if this catches on it’s only a matter of time before it’s deemed a discriminatory practice to ask for a guarantor the next landlords bashing policy I think coming is the mandatory tenancy agreement template which landlords will have no option to use .. , and will shift as many rights to the tenant ..
LOL
Landlords will be delighted with annual rent increases of 3% to 5%.
If Gov continues to discourage landlords from buying additional properties the existing stock of rental properties will be become very lucrative.