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.

I rent a property out and my tenants only pay what my mortgage repayments are.... not all LL are making lots of money, sometimes it is down to circumstances!

But no one except the ll did take that particular financial risk on that particular property, did they?

Unfortunately vast numbers of the population have not been fortunate enough to get a foot on the ladder for various reasons, not because they didn’t take risk.

I would have thought that this was obvious....

I think people need to be protected financially if the government want them to follow the advice.

It is going to be very easy for the media to go after poor people and blame them for the spread and deaths while the government will sit back and say ‘well we told them to self isolate’ and take no responsibility.

force companies to pay full pay for self isolation

Do you know how many businesses that would wipe out overnight? So many are teetering on the edge as it is. You are not looking at the bigger picture.

Nails Read my posts again.

I did not say that......I said LL are running a business....this means they accept liability for shit, and should have back up plans.

If you are a landlord I am securing your financial future, whilst never being able to guarantee my own, because the private rent I pay means I can't afford to save to get a mortgage.

You have a choice as a LL....step up and be responsible, or don't be a LL.....I have no choice as a tenant.

If I had a house to rent out I'd be fucking delighted!

It's a vicious cycle, and my point is that this virus has exposed the flaws in our gig economy/ unchecked private LL and rents/ benefits system.

Where when the shit hits the fan, our system means there is no support (ssp is a joke amount for those paying a fortune in rent)

I feel like this thread has very effectively proved the OP's point. For people who are already economically vulnerable, self isolation is going to be incredibly difficult, potentially catastrophic for them and their family and the people clamouring for a shut down are being completely unrealistic if they think a shut down for an extended period is possible.

No one is going to put themselves and their children in a situation where they are definitely homeless and definitely struggling to afford to eat because they want to be socially responsible and protect complete strangers who might get sick.

Totally agree OP, it’s frightening how many posters think it’s as simple as “just pop a few hundred on the credit card”
I’m a cleaner on a zero hour contract, I will not be eligible for SSP as I don’t earn over 118 a week (that’s the requirement to apply for it) I’m diabetic so I’m really wanting to self isolate, however I can’t live if I don’t go I work for the £80 per week.

My employers won’t pay me anything if I self isolate and won’t even pay me if I actually had Coronavirus as I’m just a zero hour worker.

It’s terrifying that people are having to choose between keeping their homes and becoming seriously ill

My BIL has two jobs, both zero hour contracts, both places likely to shut down soon. Both are poorly paid and he has no savings. He can’t apply for UC yet as he is still working and it will take weeks to come through if he is successful (assuming DWP isn’t crippled with staff shortages).
It’s awful for him. He’s hoping for some unseasonably warm weather so that he can turn his heating off.
And he is lucky - he doesn’t have dependants to support.

LizzieSiddal The mortgage company is not writing off a month or two of mortgage payments

I never said they did! I said they will allow you to take a payment holiday. Yes it may mean your interest eventually goes up, but if it only for a month, it's going to be pennies.

If your tenant can't pay and has nowhere to go, it could take you more than a month to get them out (and make them homeless), so why not work with your Bank and the tenant, so you all end up happy?

We run a business, we are working round the clock to rearrange things, speak to employees/customers etc, so we have the least amount of disruption, and NOT just for the sake of the business but for our employees, we feel a duty of care towards them.
I don't understand why a LL would feel any different about their tenant. Renting a house out is a business, so act accordingly and be proactive!

..I said LL are running a business....this means they accept liability for shit, and should have back up plans

Generally, landlords do have back up plans. (I’m talking about individuals with one or two properties here, not HA’s or other major landlords) But they don’t come for free and they aren’t a charity, so why should the responsibility to house other people for nothing fall to them? Why?

If you are a landlord I am securing your financial future

No, you really aren’t. The person who died and left me an inheritance after working all their life secured my financial future. And I am working to secure my financial future. You are paying for the roof over your own head, just like we’re all supposed to do.

As a landlord, I do fulfil my responsibilities. Providing free housing isn’t one of my responsibilities. If people have to self isolate then it’s not vastly different to them having a normal bout of sickness.

The low level of SSP and the criteria for accessing benefits may be a problem, and for that I’d expect to be on the same side you are. We pay our taxes, the government should sort this shit out so that people are looked after when they genuinely need it. But I don’t see why I as a landlord should suddenly be expected to provide free housing and suck up the costs associated with that.

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.

Which is precisely why the government should step in and underwrite these costs for businesses. So many people will be absolutely stuffed if they have to stay home from work.

I'm a benefits adviser and we've been trying to find out if the DWP are going to make alternative arrangements so that people making new universal credit claims don't have to attend a verification appointment in person. They don't seem to have thought of that yet, or at least they hadn't at 11 am yesterday.

In Hong Kong everyone over 18 is been given the equivalent of £985 to deal with the economic consequences of self-isolation.

I think the OP’s point is that LLs can work with mortgage providers and in turn work with tenants. This works with buy to let and residential mortgages. Lenders already last week announced that they were introducing payment breaks for those that needed them.

@viccat, any landlord who will become insolvent if a tenant misses a couple of months' rent would be well advised to take out insurance to indemnify themselves against that risk.

But I literally didn't mean free housing....

I meant letting your tenant, who is supposed to self isolate with symptoms/a symptomatic householder, pay that months rent back in installments, ya know, come to an arrangement.

Because the Government won't step up and deal with this, but is expecting us as a "community" to do the right thing.

Not every LL is understanding, not everyone gives a shit about their tenants except in terms of the money they make them.

No one is expecting you to provide free housing, but it would be incredibly helpful if people who should self isolate, but are too terrified to stop work in case they lose their house, could do so.

This is down to the Government....totally....

But they just aren't going to help are they??

Also we won't be able to pay into key meters if we have to self isolate....I wonder how many people are in the same boat?

I think the OP’s point is that LLs can work with mortgage providers and in turn work with tenants. This works with buy to let and residential mortgages. Lenders already last week announced that they were introducing payment breaks for those that needed them

Thank you!!

This is a much better version than my rants!!

What is all this rage about LL? Where would renters leave if there were no one willing to rent their house?

Yes there are big companies that make big buck by renting but there are loads ofpeople that rent their houses for allkind of reason.For example old people some time down size and rent their old houses to pay for their living.How would they make it ifthey didn't get their rent paid?

I private rent and I’m currently self isolating partly by working from home and staying put partly to do my bit and party due to viral symptoms.

For the record I was once a home owner but divorce happened.

Fortunately for my landlord my pay is not affected but feeling heartbroken right now for those who private rent and WILL lose pay. I know my LL has the relevant insurance and tells me he has 1 year of mortgage put by.

The Australian government has provided all low income groups with a payment of $750 approximately 2 weeks incomes as a bonus to help those with potential financial issues have a safety net. We need to follow suite

RedRover this is exactly it.

So so many people, possibly millions, who are already using foodbanks/on strict budgets/ reliant on hour to hour income will suffer from this.

Plus.....imagine if loads of people self isolate, miss their rent, then are kicked out in 2 months.....where are they all going to go? What will it cost us in terms of social housing/temp housing/benefits???

Why isn't the Government planning for this properly??

As a landlord obviously I’m going to work with the tenant if they aren’t working and can’t pay for a month or two, what is the alternative £4000 in court fees kicking them out, and no rent and no tenant. People aren’t stupid

I am not sure all companies can afford to pay full pay but SSP should be a given.

I think landlords can better afford the loss of rent than tenants can the loss of their home. I know the people who are landlords on here get very annoyed at being accused of being rich and fat cats and all of that but if you can afford more than one house, you are wealthy in comparison with most and can better weather the storm.

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

in the same way the a mobile contract should be airtime only once the device has been paid for

I think the government’s is valuing the economy over non-contributors (people on benefits, the disabled, the sick, the old). Bojo sees the type of people who live paycheck to paycheck, the very poor renters, the people who will be shafted by corona and by self isolating as “natural wastage”. He doesn’t care if you get evicted, or if you die. As long as we don’t go into recession again..

It’s very much a Tory viewpoint. Survival of the fittest etc. They think saving the economy is a case of the good of the many outweighing the good of the few.

Also.....why as LL are you not worried that you will have tenants defaulting???

If you are all so badly off that rent is your income, why are you arguing with me, instead of either coming to an arrangement with your tenants just in case (like a decent LL should do in these circs!) or lobbying the Government to sort this out for you??

Surely you lose out too??