Rent arrears

[Pixxie7]

According to news night there are thousands of people who have fallen behind with their rent. Whilst I appreciate some are genuine I can’t see how anyone on benefits or on a pension can have been that badly affected. Similarly with people furloughed.
So my question is are a lot taking advantage of a bad situation.?

You can still have thousands who have fallen behind without counting people on benefits or a pension whose income has probably been unaffected.

I don’t think people on the whole willing put themselves into debt and risk potential eviction to skip a few months of paying rent.

Also don’t forget many people on furlough we’re not receiving their full salary.

I appreciate that but a majority of people have received help in some form or another.

Like what exactly? Help to top up the missing 20% of their usual income?

.Doesnt it just warm the cockles of your heart to see that this pandemic has become such a leveller...............oh wait it HAS when it involves telling poorer people to make face masks out of old socks so they can feel we are all in it together and not risk infecting their "betters" with Covid while people blame them for their predicament and then expect them to wear face coverings to protect those who are blaming them.

Pffft.

YABU some people have been very badly affected by the furlough my husband went from getting £1300 a month to getting £1000 a month we really struggled to pay our rent on that along with everything else we just about managed. So I can well imagine a lot of people falling behind with their rent. It’s not just people on benefits or pensions that have struggled with all this.

Whilst I appreciate some are genuine I can’t see how anyone on benefits or on a pension can have been that badly affected.

Higher cost of living with D.C. being at home maybe?

You do realise that many people on benefits, and even some on pensions are still in work, right?

I can’t see how anyone on benefits or on a pension can have been that badly affected are you for real?! These are the people MOST likely to be affected!

Most benefits claimants are in low paid jobs which were pretty much instantly affected negatively, and those who aren’t in work many were just about getting by before and will have been impacted by the price rises and difficulties in getting certain items - my grocery bills gone through the roof!!

I appreciate that but a majority of people have received help in some form or another.

Nope! There’s whole sectors that have been deliberately left out of the help that’s available mainly self employed and those of us on legacy benefits (I suspect in a barely disguised effort to tempt us into switching onto UC)

Millions were barely coping BEFORE covid!!

yabVVVVu and need to get a clue about life for many if not most others in the Uk.

For reference the London Borough I live in saw unemployment claims increase by over 100% in May so I don’t think we can underestimate the impact this has had on households financially. A lot of people are genuinely struggling, or things have improved for them since the start of lockdown but they’re still feeling the knock on effects. The problem with rent arrears is that they’re really hard to clear once even a month or two builds up, as rent is often a sizeable chunk of your income.

There were about 3 million people not entitled to anything HTH

People furloughed received 80% of their salary so may be a short fall but not months of not paying.

Before Covid even happened, I fell behind with my rent.
It wasn't my fault at all it was (long story short), an admin error.
They paid it all back, but not before they took me to court over it.

@Pixxie7

People furloughed received 80% of their salary so may be a short fall but not months of not paying.

Those same people also saw their living costs increase

curious as to how you’ve come to conclusion that there must be large swathes of chancers out there refusing to pay their rent even though they can? What are you basing this on? Just a hunch? Are you just one of those people who assumes people on benefits are lazy?

We are in a recession and thousands (if not millions) have felt the effects of COVID-19 financially - I’m not sure why people not being able to afford their rent is such an outrageous idea?

2 x furlough of 80% here
We have lived on 60% of our usual income since March. Well done with your understanding there op.

I had to go to court and stand up and say that I had the full amount which was guaranteed to be in my bank the following day.
I had informed mt HA of this and had proof, but they weren't interested.
The sherrif said, "I'm sorry this happened to you Miss Brillo"
All was well, I paid it.
Then I got a bill for the court costs.
Basically I had to go to court and pay the costs for somebody else's fuck up.
So don't tell me being on benefits is easy.

Firstly I don’t imply or assume that people on benefits are lazy. In fact I applaud anyone who can survive on benefits. Yes living costs have gone up but that’s the same for everyone. I just think that rent should be a priority as it not only risks the roof over people’s head but also affects landlords.

speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/social-tenants-at-greater-homeless-risk-than-private-tenants-when-eviction-ban-ends/

@IHaveBrilloHair Is this a certain HA that uses a certain computer system?

Well for a start there's those previously working zero hour contracts who'd have to make new applications for universal credit/housing benefit which tends to run six weeks behind a new claim. Then there's those who received the 'gov letter', stating they needed to stay at home and didn't realise their employer would only fund X months of pay. Plus there was the landlords that were legally told they could evict, but once that came back into force tenants who've run up arrears can be kicked out. And those who landlords don't 'accept DSS' so if they're now in receipt of universal credits they could be in breach of their tenancy terms. Of course there will be a small percentage who've seen a green light to not pay rent. But to be honest it's probably a very small percentage, as most people don't want to risk losing their home.

*couldn't evict

Everything is so much more expensive.

People have had children stuck inside, people had to change Everything about how they shop.

I don't know who owes the rent, but I am certain they didn't choose to get there.

My fridge was regularly empty during the lockdown.

And even with an 80% cut in wages there's been plenty of families stung on top with being stuck having to continue paying out for child care costs they can't actually access. And then the added expense of buying extra food for children who'd normally receive a meal at said childcare setting, or school. When you're paddling madly to break even every month a shortfall of even £50 can be catastrophic. We all know the old adage of 'keep at least 3 months wages in savings', but there's millions who can barely keep out of the red come pay day.

Even non-working people on benefits who didn't see a drop in income have seen a jump in costs at home -

higher electricity and gas with everyone at home all day (the latter two especially relevant if on a key meter)
No supermarket deals
No supermarket bargain yellow stickers
Limited choices in supermarkets (round here lots of supermarket own brand tins were out of stock far, far more often than pricey brands)
Shortages of cheap bulk options like pasta
Less transport options so no shopping around for cheap offers
Trying to keep the kids amused at home for multiple months

Then you get into the people who've had hours cut, jobs lost, the waiting time for benefits etc

If you already have no wiggle room in your budget then those factors put you in the red instantly. It's all very well saying "you have to prioritise rent" but you can't tell hungry kids that.