To think ending the eviction ban just as the Indian variant is spreading is a very bad idea

[Tealightsandd]

Hundreds of thousands of families and vulnerable individuals could soon become homeless all around the same time. Just as the Indian Covid variant is starting to spread...

It's a potential public health issue - and a taxpayer one too. It will cost loads to house them all in expensive but cramped (ideal Covid spreading conditions) temporary accommodation.

Rent arrears can't just keep building and landlords need the rent paying. But mass evictions during a pandemic aren't the answer.

Lots of people have lost their jobs or are too ill with Long Covid to work. Many are struggling to pay their rent.

The solution is an increase to housing welfare benefits so that tenants can afford private rents.

Separately, rent arrears and severe anti social behaviour aside (which should be dealt with by the police as well as landlords), currently England allows no fault evictions. Tenants can and are evicted, despite being fully paid up on rent. Bad at any time. Potentially deadly during a pandemic.

Yanbu and all

Looks like most people aren't bothered. I'd rather my taxes were spent on housing benefits to keep families and children in their homes. Perhaps others here prefer the tax to go on more expensive temporary accommodation.

YANBU .

Sorry if I'm being thick but why would hundreds of thousands of families suddenly be homeless?

Social housing will not be able to cope once the eviction ban is lifted. Local councils will not have the property to house people in once the private landlord evictions start coming through the courts. Bed and breakfast is already full in many cities. Plus if social housing evictions begin as well I just don't see where people will live. Just don't know what the answer is to it all if we don't start building more social housing.

@loverloverlover

Sorry if I'm being thick but why would hundreds of thousands of families suddenly be homeless?

Landlords have been waiting for the ban on evictions to end. That's at the end of this month - and once it ends, loads are going to apply for evictions straight away.

@Fairyfalls

It's a disaster waiting to happen.

We desperately need so much more council /social housing.
Private landlords aren't the answer.
We need to end the buying up of council houses and build more of them but no government is committed to it.

I agree in principle but think a lot of ‘landlords’ aren’t actually the awful unscrupulous millionaires MN makes them out to be. I know multiple of my parents friends own a second property (generally used inheritance as a deposit and planned on it being an investment for their own kids) but they have mortgages and are not ‘wealthy’.

It’s ok saying ‘some people have lost jobs/are unwell with long covid’ but what are the landlords who aren’t receiving rent and can’t afford to pay the mortgage supposed to do?
It’s a vicious cycle but landing one family in severe financial hardship to stop another being temporarily housed by the council isn’t an option.

It’s not a ‘fair’ situation all around

Ah yes the "community" rhetoric that the Government spouts when it comes to masks and vaccines clearly doesnt include certain demographics.

If you subsidise rent to much you might be in a situation where landlords increase the rent because they know that the tax payer will pay

On top of that I do not believe you are talking small numbers,

It might be cheaper to pay for temporary accommodation for the few rather than more housing benefits for the many

Just a view from a financial point of view

With all this covid spending I think the government budget will get tighter

Do you have any figures to backup your ideas?

Its housing associations who will be doing a lot of the evicting.

It’s ok saying ‘some people have lost jobs/are unwell with long covid’ but what are the landlords who aren’t receiving rent and can’t afford to pay the mortgage supposed to do?

My OP deals with this. We need to increase housing benefits so they meet private rents.

Temporary accommodate is massively more expensive than housing benefit on a regular private rental. Huge sums are already spent on it. It's often private landlords - but they charge 5-10 times the usual market rent for a property in very poor condition.

speye.wordpress.com/

My parents are waiting to evict their current tenants, they have lost so much money the last year due to this so they are very relieved.
What are landlords meant to do ?

@Shtsandgiggles As a social housing tenant i am mighty fed up with being told i must wear a mask and take a vaccine for the "community" but anything else and the community rhetoric disappears.

Not a dig but it's worth remembering that if anyone get cheaper accommodation due to the government financial help

Then another worker has had more tax taken out of their monthly pay to pay for it

speye.wordpress.com/2017/07/23/housing-fake-news-deliberately-masks-high-social-housing-evictions/

YANBU but I feel bad for landlords. DH works within the lettings industry and they have so many landlords who’s tenants haven’t paid a penny because they know they won’t be evicted. They’ve had several now offer to leave on the basis they wipe all arrears and pretend it never happened. It can’t go on, especially the ones who haven’t lost their job or aren’t passing the housing benefit on. I’m always usually on the tenants side in these instances but it’s so unfair on those landlords who rely heavily on the rent

@Bringminimoons

My parents are waiting to evict their current tenants, they have lost so much money the last year due to this so they are very relieved. What are landlords meant to do ?

@Bringminimoons I understand if the tenants are the small minority who are wilfully withholding rent despite having the money.

However, in many many cases it's because tenants literally don't have the money. Housing benefits have been frozen for years. That's a cut in real terms, and the amount given hasn't kept up with private rents.

The short term solution is to increase housing benefits and allow direct payment to landlords if requested.

Longer term, I agree with previous posters. We urgently need more social housing.

The no fault eviction means even tenants fully up to date on rent with no anti social behaviour issues can also be evicted. Often it's because they lose their jobs (so many during the pandemic), end up on benefits, and despite paying rent in full, they are evicted 'just in case'.

increase housing benefit to fully pay the rent??not partially?

isn't it means tested though?

I most certainly would like to see a change in the rental sector

Ideally with a stop to no fault evictions

And ideally one that brings the costs of rent down,

Buy I do not believe giving more tax payers money to landlords is the way to go

The discretionary housing payment is in place to help tenants who can’t pay their full rent in these sort of circumstances. The cap on housing benefit in private rented properties isn’t the cause of evictions at the moment.

@MercyBooth
If you think it's not a problem for private tenants and all ok, then by your argument any evicted social housing tenants can just go into private and not be evicted.

Of course they will be some issues for some in social housing but those tenancies even the new starter ones, are more secure than private.

Also - and this is key - housing benefit rates cover social housing rents (except the few market rent HA properties, which aren't proper social housing).

Tealightsandd

Are you talking about evictions or section 21s.

They are not the same thing.

Also if anyone is in the position of being evicted they are usually told to stay where they are until they are forcefully evicted by court order.