If you all want people to self isolate without penalty.....

[AnIdiotNeedsHelp]

Inspired by the "excuses" thread..

All these posts saying "just use a credit card" "it'll be hard but you'll get through it"

NO!!

It fucking won't.

If you want people to be able to self isolate here is what you do....

*if you are a LL let your tenants have a rent break....otherwise you are a hypocrite

*Lobby the government for these changes...
*force energy companies to allow payment for key meters online/give customers a break from payment
*force LL to allow rent breaks
*force companies to pay full pay for self isolation

Otherwise all your handwringing is fucking pointless.

We, like I suspect millions of people, cannot afford to self isolate, due to circumstances we have no savings, no access to credit, and 2 weeks ssp will make us homeless because our LL literally couldn't give a shit (I know there are Good LL- never met one though!)

We have key meters and can't top up online.

It's all very well and good being all fucking smug and saying we should have been prepared....how???

We are stuck in a cycle of private rent and debt and general shit and barely make it every month....as I think loads of people are but don't want to admit it...

Seriously....start shouting at your MPs.....please think of those who are too terrified to self isolate because the whole family will be out on the street.

Or would you be happy to pay my rent/deal with the bailiffs/house me when my shitty LL kicks me out???

Pay for it all...no???

Will you pay those bills for me?

When ive been put deliberately at risk by someone who should have been self isolating but didnt. When people ignore the advice they make the spread wider, increase the need for self isolation amongst other people that cant afford it.

People ignoring self isolation advice could easily not only put others in a similar or worse position as them but also shut whole workplaces down

Marlox I get all of that...I really fucking do....

But you have to understand it's not that easy.

Our whole economy and benefits system is designed so that people are forced to work on zero hour contracts/ pay ridiculous private rents/ don't get decent social help

What are these people supposed to do unless the Government steps up??

That's my point.

SSP is unliveable on for many people including us, unless the Government puts in place measures to ensure that companies are forced to pay full pay for self isolating, unless energy companies are forced to deal with those on key meters, unless LL are forced to let tenants repay rent without the threat of eviction.

What about those reliant on food banks??

Do you know what it's like to be evicted from your home??

I do....I have PTSD and anxiety from it.

I cannot risk that again.

If you want people to stay at home we need to force companies and LL.....not already skint hand to mouth people from suffering even fucking more.

Sadly, it's no use expecting the present government to protect the poor, vulnerable or elderly.

Campain for the universal basic income

Not all landlords are wealthy - they may rely on the rental income just as much as you rely on your salary. Are you suggesting they just write off a month's rent, or would you pay double after your self isolation is over?

I hate to say this viccat but if you are a LL you should have back up.....like what if a tenant defaults for a month, what if the boiler needs replacing??

You must have plans??

Those of us paying a fortune to rent are paying way over the odds on your mortgage....unless you literally charge the mortgage cost?

This is part of my argument....when we allow private LL to run basically unchecked in terms of their plans/backup/ rent charged....we end up here.

Why do you think landlords and companies can afford to pay these bills ? Your post smacks of ignorance of complex economic and social care issues.

I’m not saying I have the answers, and it is awful that people are going to be put in this position, but driving companies and landlords into insolvency/bankruptcy will create further problems. It is not the answer.

Oh and if LL are worried.....like I said....

LOBBY THE GOVERNMENT!!

You can't on one hand want people to self isolate, then on the other be cross because your tenant can't pay their rent because SSP simply won't cover it.

The fucking Government should be dealing with all this......but they are simply not.....so this is where we are....terrified of getting it, but terrified of bailiffs and losing their house.

My point Blunt is that
A) the shit system we have has people trapped anyway....so choosing between spreading illness and paying rent and bills is already a fucking choice we have to make all the time
B) The fucking Government (who should have addressed this already but won't) should be putting into place measures to protect both tenants and LLs!

This is not LL bashing

This is a bashing of the fucking shitty private rent/ gig economy system that has put a lot of people in this situation in the first place

100% with you OP, I despise all landlords, I don't care how 'good' of a landlord you think you are - if you own additional houses you don't live in, imo you are completely unethical. But that's a different thread! 😂

I'm one of the people who won't be able to cope on SSP if it comes to that and even if i have symptoms I will HAVE to go to work unless my company agrees to send people home on full pay or allows me to WFH and provides the laptop to do it - I literally cannot afford to take two weeks off. There are so many people in this situation, and a lot of people who simply cannot imagine the situation so don't understand how damaging this will be. I don't have any faith in this government but it's their job to sort this out and look after the people of this country - they need to do it.

I hate to say this viccat but if you are a LL you should have back up.....like what if a tenant defaults for a month, what if the boiler needs replacing??

Sorry but why do you expect others to prepare better than you have? If SSP will make you homeless and you have no access at all to any credit then you’re living right on the edge as it is. Any of us could get sick or injured at any time. What if the boiler needs replacing? Well what if you get shingles or badly break a bone or something? You’d be on SSP then.

I agree with OP, except the LLs have mortgages, the employers won't have any income and many will fail anyway. So who's paying for that?

How can it be unethical to own houses you don't live in? Where the hell would people who rent live without landlords. I don't know the figures but a very large proportion of landlords don't have a property empire and simply have a house they rent out which they have because they inherited it or moved in with a partner. They are not necessarily in a strong financial position either.

Not all landlords are wealthy

But Banks have said they will allow payment holidays for mortgages- so LLs should take this up and should be telling their tenants not to worry if they need to self isolate and cannot pay the rent for a month or two.

Anne LL accept risk when they run a business...

It is literally a requirement that when you make money (and that's what it is....nobody just charges their mortgage rate as rent.....if they do I'd love to see that!) it literally is your responsibility to be able to cover this stuff.

If you are renting out a house .... you should be able to cover eventualities.....otherwise you are not a responsible LL

As tenants....we are often on shaky ground.....and paying way over the odds for shitty accommodation, with less legal recourse than is fair.

Round here LL charge extortionate rents, for often shiity places, do the bare minimum, and kick you out if you miss a payment....

How is this comparable to living hand to mouth and trying to put money in the meter at the end of the month??

You sound hysterical. I’m a LL, I don’t have a mortgage on my rental property but I do on the one I live in and I can’t afford to house people for free. I too might end up not getting paid from my job if we close. If I weren’t a landlord, I’d be on benefits, and I’d rather support myself than have the state do it for me thanks very much.

Your suggestion is ludicrous. If you have to get into debt to pay your own living expenses then that’s unfortunate, but landlords can’t be expected to take the hit for you. They don’t owe you a favour FFS.

LizzieSiddal The mortgage company is not writing off a month or two of mortgage payments; if you get a mortgage holiday, that amount is just added to the total amount you owe and often means the interest rate actually goes up. If tenants are struggling to pay now, how are they going to afford to cover the missed rent later on? Maybe the government should put something in place to help but asking individual landlords to write off two month's rent is unreasonable.

Landlords also often pay a management fee to lettings agents, landlords insurance, service charges/ground rent if it's a flat and will have other fixed costs.

Also, why do you think landlords should only charge their mortgage rate in rent?

Are they supposed to maintain your home and provide a landlord service to you for free?

You pay more in rent than you do a mortgage because you didn’t take the financial risk to buy the property in the first place, and you aren’t the one that has to worry about it when repairs need doing.

I agree with the OP 100%. DH & I were homeless 3 weeks ago, thank goodness but we've got a HA house now. Our LL sold our last house. I do think that LLs should not rely absolutely on their rental income - if they can't afford to miss out on the rental income, they shouldn't be a LL. What about void peroids, repairs etc?

And as for the question of where people would live if LLs didn't rent their properties out - if I'd gone straight into work from school, instead of going to uni, I could have got the exact same job, got a mortgage & been a homeowner, like so many of the people in my year group did. Instead, I did what I was told, went to uni, & missed the boat - house prices had risen out of my reach by the time I'd finished university & it wouldn't have been viable without at least 50-60k deposit in my town. Basically because so many of them had been bought up in the property boom. Prices more than doubled in 3 years. It's a beautiful tourist town with a high proportion of renters, now.

Yep. I can afford to self isolate ATM as l have a partner who would pick up slack in my income.
8years ago as a single mum living hand to mouth l would have to have to work no matter how sick l was. I think people on here who say get a loan or use a credit card have no idea what it's like to not be able to get credit anywhere while watch the gas and electric meter tick down

@NailsNeedDoing - so by your logic, when their mortgage is paid off, the rent should drop significantly, yes?

Your right many people can't self isolate they simply live hand to mouth , even going a day ssp would be a struggle .
And those that suggest that it's selfish to not self isolate to risk passing possible infection on , yeah all this panic buying toilet rolls , soap , sanitiser is not selfish . It's a f you society we live in but it's the way it is .
Not everyone can self isolate it's a fact .

I would think that having a house paid for by a tenant as a future investment when the tenant will end up with nothing is sufficient.

Assuming people didn’t take the ‘financial’ risk you did is exceptionally ignorant.

It's not in a tenant's best interests for a house to be repossessed.