Increase in Homelessness

[Alex50]

This isn’t going to end well, AIBU the government should still block evictions for non rent payments

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53797657

@SnuggyBuggy

But don't many landlords depend on getting the rent to pay off the mortgage for the property? Obviously it's a worst of both worlds deal for the tennant.

Some do, it should make no difference to the tenant though. How the landlord acquired their property is irrelevant to the fact that tenants need to pay their rent.

Well I have been in that situation where renting a room in an undesirable houseshare would have taken most of my salary leaving me in a precarious position if I'd had any other unexpected living costs or those admin fees that landlords used to be able to randomly come up with for extra cash.

Luckily I was able to live with parents and save up for a house deposit. Fuck knows what's going to happen when generation rent reach retirement age.

Some people can't afford rent because of being very low earners living in an expensive area. Some can't afford it because they rent a property above their means and some because paying their rent doesn't come first.

Its not up to the landlord to de ide which is which and base their sympathy accordingly.

@Heffalooomia

If wages are so low that's a full-time worker cannot afford a basic place to live surely there's something wrong?

What do you class as a basic place to live though?

I agree that a full time worker on minimum wage should be able to afford to rent a room, but plenty of people seem to think that minimum wage should be enough to live in a three bed semi and have a couple of kids when it isn’t, and we shouldn’t expect it to be.

People needing somewhere to live need affordable housing with a rental system that matches earnings and benefits, is decently regulated and appropriately maintained. The current system is a horrible mess.

@Heffalooomia

Should they buy their groceries for them as well If they had control over the supply of food and their desire to make profit had led to them artificially inflating the price of food such that normal people could not access it then yes I think they would have a moral duty to buy their groceries for them

You think the average LL has more control over the housing market than Tesco have over the food market 🤦‍♀️

Landlords are doing no one a favour except themselves, let’s not play.

If people weren’t allowed to own more than one property then more people would own their properties, which is only a good thing.

I think there should be a cap on house prices and on rent charges IMHO.

If the tenant’s finances aren’t the landlord’s problem, then logic suggests the landlord’s finances aren’t the tenants problem either. I don’t know what the answer is but we desperately need more social housing. Maybe a Covid emergency housing fund? And agree with @LakieLady that empty properties sat doing nothing should be seized.

@Eatyourbanana

Landlords are doing no one a favour except themselves, let’s not play.

If people weren’t allowed to own more than one property then more people would own their properties, which is only a good thing.

Completely agree. There’s no reason why anyone needs to own more than one property except to make money, which isn’t a good enough reason.

I think this appalling attitude to renters is going to bite LL and the government in the arse. As soon as people start seeing families, elderly and sick people on the street there is going to be such a backlash. Also if there is mass unemployment and no one can afford rent what are LL going to do? Probably ask for a handout no doubt.

Hopefully this will force a massive change with regards to housing but I shan't hold my breath. Its just going to be awful once the evictions start.

I live in social housing and make sure the rent is paid, so I don't have "skin in the game". But I think at-fault evictions need to be able to go ahead again. For most people there are no longer serious health concerns about moving house - protections should be in place for those shielding or vulnerable. And while I've generally little sympathy for what I call opportunistic landlords (they lie to themselves that it's "accidental"), I don't want to see them fucked over either.

A continued moratorium on no-fault evictions would not be unreasonable. There are plans to do away with that altogether anyway.

Evictions and repossessions went ahead as normal in the late 00s recession after all.

@TazMac, yes, I daresay it's probably not such a big thing outside the London and the south-east, but where I live the average house price is probably well over £500k, so it's quite a saving (£15k iirc) if you can dodge it.

Houses are getting sold really quickly here, and my manager, who lives in a town not at all well-regarded locally, got a buyer for her place as soon as it went on the market. The place she's buying never even went on the market, she'd just missed out on a similar house in the same road and the agent rang her about it as soon as they got the instruction.

We've had flyers through the door from 3 different agents in the last few weeks, because they're desperate for properties in this part of town.

@startrek90

I think this appalling attitude to renters is going to bite LL and the government in the arse. As soon as people start seeing families, elderly and sick people on the street there is going to be such a backlash. Also if there is mass unemployment and no one can afford rent what are LL going to do? Probably ask for a handout no doubt.

Hopefully this will force a massive change with regards to housing but I shan't hold my breath. Its just going to be awful once the evictions start.

There isn’t an awful attitude to renters, just an expectation that they pay their rent.

There won’t be a situation where ‘no one’ can afford rent, there will always be enough people working to fill the supply of rental properties, even if there is high unemployment. Highly unlikely that landlords will ask for handouts, and even less likely that they’d expect to get one.

@nowaitaminute, the powers already exist, but councils are reluctant to use them because they're complex, and the courts are reluctant to grant them.

Back in the late 70s/early 1980s, the GLC used these powers quite a lot. If the homes were in good nick, they became council houses. If they weren't, they were leased or sold to housing co-operatives and housing associations (who had more funds) for refurbishment. Some were sold on under a "homesteading" scheme, where people who were in housing need but had no chance of getting a council place, bought them cheaply from the council, with a GLC mortgage, and did them up.

This how come some friends of mine managed to get a garden flat just round the corner from Holland Park for £8k in approx 1978/9. It was a wreck, but full of original features and had the potential to be fantastc.

I'd just make it a lot easier, eg if a house has been empty for a year or more, and isn't in the process of being renovated/subject to probate or divorce proceedings/awaiting a decision re planning or demolition, they can take ownership if the owner fails to challenge the application for a CPO within a few months of application.

If there' was a mortgage, and the CPO price exceeded the amount outstanding, then the mortgagee would get their dosh, same as they do in any sale. If it doesn't, then the mortgagee comes after the mortgagor for the balance. That would really make owners think twice about leaving properties empty.

I don't know how long you're allowed to leave a property empty with a BTL mortgage, but on all my residential mortgages there's been a condition that the property won't be left unoccupied for more than a certain period of time without the consent of the lender. I've no idead who easy it is to get permission, but an easier CPO process might make lenders rethink that.

Any thing that brings empty properties back into use is to be encouraged imo.

@Heffalooomia

Should they buy their groceries for them as well If they had control over the supply of food and their desire to make profit had led to them artificially inflating the price of food such that normal people could not access it then yes I think they would have a moral duty to buy their groceries for them

But that's not the case, is it?

Tenants need to pay the rent or move out to somewhere cheaper. Madness to think landlords should subsidise them.

"Completely agree. There’s no reason why anyone needs to own more than one property except to make money, which isn’t a good enough reason."

Why on earth shouldn't people own more than one property?! That's a ridiculous notion. If people werent allowed to own more than one property, people wouldnt be able to rent!!! You do see that, dont you?

@Eatyourbanana

"Landlords are doing no one a favour except themselves, let’s not play.

If people weren’t allowed to own more than one property then more people would own their properties, which is only a good thing"

Totally agree with this. One home per family, and one home for every family. I don't care if they're rented or owner-occupied, just as long as everyone has somewhere to live. Some people will need accommodation with a lot of support, especially people who have lived on the streets for years, but all that that takes is the will and the funding.

One home for every family you say? So in your world, I don’t need to bother providing that for myself because someone else will do it for me, and I can keep my own money to go on holidays rather than support my family? Brilliant, where do I sign up?

Yes, and who owns the houses that are let out?

@startrek90

I think this appalling attitude to renters is going to bite LL and the government in the arse. As soon as people start seeing families, elderly and sick people on the street there is going to be such a backlash. Also if there is mass unemployment and no one can afford rent what are LL going to do? Probably ask for a handout no doubt.

Hopefully this will force a massive change with regards to housing but I shan't hold my breath. Its just going to be awful once the evictions start.

This is just silly. It really isn't an "appalling attitude" to expect tenants to pay the rent they agreed to pay or move out.

Most people agree. Most tenants pay their rent, they aren't going to be very sympathetic to people who don't. There really isn't going to be a backlash. ridiculous to think there would be.

"As soon as people start seeing families, elderly and sick people on the street"

This will never happen. They will be put up in emergency b and b if they need emergency housing....or families will need to find somewhere cheaper to live.

@Orchidsindoors

"Completely agree. There’s no reason why anyone needs to own more than one property except to make money, which isn’t a good enough reason."

Why on earth shouldn't people own more than one property?! That's a ridiculous notion. If people werent allowed to own more than one property, people wouldnt be able to rent!!! You do see that, dont you?

More people would be able to own a property if people didn’t hoard them to rent out. We need way more social housing for people who can’t or don’t want to buy.

I would counter that landlordism is theft. There's always one!

More people would be able to own a property if people didn’t hoard them to rent out Think that through. They would have a bank as landlord instead of an individual. They would still need to pay for it!

And landlords are essential for so many people, as are usually listed in this sort of thread. There's just a weird MN fetish about landlords!