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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Renters will ‘feel more secure’ following extension of the tenant eviction ban

The government’s decision to extend the ban on landlords evicting renters will help to ensure that no-one will be evicted from their home this summer due to coronavirus. However, it does leave some landlords who have not received a penny in rental income over the past few months in limbo. 

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced a two-month extension to the government's ban on evicting renters in England and Wales on Friday.

The move means new evictions in England and Wales of tenants in both social and privately-rented accommodation will be suspended until 23 August. 

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The extension will run from 25 June, the end of the three-month period originally announced as part of emergency coronavirus legislation in March, which is likely to help a number of renters. 

Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director at Ringley and creator of automated letting platform, PlanetRent, said: “There’s no doubt that thousands of renters that are suffering financial difficulty will be happy to hear the news from the government and will now feel more secure in their homes.

“With all of the uncertainty going on at the moment, tenants deserve to be protected by the government from evictions that could be through no fault of their own, and could well be down to financial hardship brought on by being furloughed or losing their job altogether, but this needs to be balanced by proving that their income has gone down.”

But it is not clear at this stage what the government’s plans are when it comes to the market at the end of this two-month extension, creating a great deal of uncertainty in the process. 

Bowring continued: “The worry is that many landlords are retired, according to the English Private Landlord Survey, as many as 33% are. 

“These landlords may well not have a mortgage to claim a repayment holiday on, rely on property income and without rent or furlough monies may struggle to survive.” 

He added: “Looking at the long term, the government may need to consider other ways of financially supporting households post-crisis. For example, through higher housing benefit payments as clearly the high cost of the furlough scheme means it cannot last indefinitely. 

"Tenants and landlords should be working together in what is a difficult time for everybody, and should not use the eviction ban as an excuse to mistreat the property they live in or withhold rent if they are not in a genuinely financially difficult situation.

“Some renters may need more financial assistance from the government but cancelling rents as some have suggested or getting the government to pay would be hugely damaging.”

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Poll: Do you welcome the government's two-month extension to the ban on evicting renters in England and Wales?

PLACE YOUR VOTE BELOW

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    63% of you (aka fools) said last Thursday that the eviction ban would not be extended - you are most welcome to believe your own hype.

    Don't worry, tomorrow it'll be fish 'n' chip paper !

    Now... cue the vitriol.

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    Government regulations (they are everywhere) forbid the use of newspaper to wrap fish and chips.

     
  •  G romit

    "Renters will ‘feel more secure’ following extension of the tenant eviction ban"

    .......unless the Landlord becomes bankrupt!

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    The ones that pay their rent will be secure, the ones that do not will feel secure for a couple more months, but after that ??

     
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    Landlord or bank repossession - the legal procedure for eviction is still the same ?

     
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    @ Seb, it is not the same, when a property is reprocessed by a lender they can have the occupiers out in days

     
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    They’d also feel more secure if they could simply walk out of the supermarket without paying, but with no ability of the supermarket to prevent them returning next week. Only after the summer can the supermarket make any moves to even *start* the possibility of getting (very slowly) paid any grocery debt…even then, without the shopper’s cooperation, they’ve no real hope of ever getting the money, just to have them prevented from shopping in that particular store after many months -likely over a year- at best, before they move to a different supermarket. Oh, and if during their time of effective shoplifting they picked up an item a day or two out-of-date, or they were not *offered* a third item as part of a ‘buy 2 get the third free’ offer when already basketing two (even though they’re not technically *buying* anything), then not only do you have to allow ALL the previously taken groceries to go for free, you must pay the ‘customer’ compensation and possibly allow them to continue to shop in store, unhindered, for as long as *they* choose…

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    I look forward to evicting my deliberate defaulters next winter. Those with genuine hardship will be treated tolerantly.

    PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    Oh there is a Terrible time of hardship for tenants. The trouble is, its not going to be 'Temporary' like Covid-19
    After the virus, landlords will become hyper-cautious who they rent to. Unfortunately, there are likely to be some innocent casualties caught up in this, as a result of the delibrate Covid Freeloaders. ( landlord know who genuinely can't pay and by enlarge, act accordingly. )
    But Govt's whim of withdrawing legal processes is going to make even more landlords require Guarantors, or not rent to what are perceived as the 'riskier' elements of tenants.
    As always, it will be the minority of Tenants ( supported by tenant groups and the Govt ) that will incur greater Hardship for the majority.
    I foresee Local Authorities buying a hell of a lot more shipping Containers. ! - perhaps Jenrick has had a bung from their manufacturers, or maybe Richard Desmond's Westferry project has a shipping container manufacturing arm to its company. Time there was an inquiry into Jenrick's complicity over Westferry and perhaps his other decisions.

     
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    • 08 June 2020 13:38 PM

    Have fun.....Get all that you can from these feckless scoundrels. take every penny you can and be sure to screw them for 6 years with a CCJ.......That means they will remember you for a long, long time.

     
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    Is there any other industry where providers are being effectively forced to provide a free service at their own expense, to be paid at the whim of the consumer? If the government were prepared to underwrite the potentially crippling costs like they have done with the furlough scheme, then I'm sure most landlords would not have a problem with renters not paying during the crisis.

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    The only other industry I know of is water. Owing to its necessity for life and a basic human right, they are not able to suspend supply even in the event of a debt. HOWEVER, owing to this (almost) unique situation, other legislation was enacted to aid the water companies to get paid, such as making it the LL’s responsibility to inform them of the bill payer responsible.

     
  • David Lester

    None payment of rent is theft, any future Tenant will have to have a Guarantor, what will the Government do if all Landlords insisted on having one?

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    Because of the government meddling in the PRS I now insist on a guarantor or direct payment from the DWP from the outset and in perpetuity for my single person flats. As a result the local homelessness charity has told me I have the wrong attitude.
    Is it wrong to consider my survival over a feckless tenant?

     
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    • 08 June 2020 13:39 PM

    It is INDED theft...I have always said that.

     
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    • 08 June 2020 11:41 AM

    No.....you are 1000% correct. Stand by your guns and principles. It is YOUR property

    Good Luck

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    • 08 June 2020 11:49 AM

    Everyone keeps wittering on about how they will in future insist on guarantors.
    The simple facts are that very few tenants are able or willing to have a guarantor.
    Even if one is available they are still pretty useless from a cash flow perspective.

    A LL may eventually recover rent owed.
    Trouble is that would take years by which time a lender would have repossessed the property in the absence of rent to pay a mortgage.
    Even with a guarantor that usually works for the initial AST period.
    Few guarantors are on the hook for as long as the rent defaulting tenant is occupying before being evicted.
    I have never seen any form of guarantor deed which is legally watertight to keep a guarantor liable for as long as the the tenant is occupying.

    It would be best to have RGI on a guarantor though very few would even qualify.
    The facts are that most LL have little alternative than to take a massive business risk and hope they don't need to evict.
    This rarely works out as the many LL who suffer collectively every year about £9 billion in such losses mostly caused by rent defaulting tenants can testify to!
    Being a LL is in fact a very risky business due primarily to the increasingly dysfunctional eviction process and this is even BEFORE the AST and S21 are abolished.

    So if LL consider things are problematic now just wait and see the deep s### you will be in when S21 and the AST goes!!!!!

    It has now become an impossible situation for leveraged LL compounded by recent events.
    If Govt at a whim can sanction rent defaulting preventing LL from evicting then it really is game over for the BTL sector.
    It is based entirely on the ability of a BTL mortgage to be paid for by rental receipts.
    Few LL are capable of servicing mortgage payments for extended periods without rent.
    It is simply outrageous that very effectively Govt is presuming that ALL LL will do whatever it takes to service the BTL mortgage payments.

    I just don't believe that this would be achievable for the vast majority of BTL LL.
    It is inevitable that there will be mass LL repossessions with many LL being bankrupted
    Eventually any tenant of a BTL LL faces the possibility of being evicted by a repossessing lender rather than a LL.

    Either way the tenant still ends up homeless.
    Plus the LL could end up being homeless as well.
    Many LL will now consider that the risks are too high and get rid of mortgaged properties to leave a reduced number of unmortgaged rental properties.

    Yes there would still be the same rent lossess but repossession would be avoided as no lender would be involved.
    In light of all the eviction problems it makes far more business sense to be an unmortgaged LL.

    Trouble is if mortgaged LL chose to attempt to achieve unmortgaged status there would be mass homelessness as many rental properties would need to be sold for the LL to achieve unmortgaged status on remaining properties.

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    "wittering"... are we showing our age ?

    You made me smile Paul ;-)

     
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    Hi Paul Ive experienced different. When going through an agent I insist on home owning guarantors using an unlimited guarantee agreement. Guarantor requirement is the best way to a tenant check. Number of times when Ive explained whats expected of the guarantors if the tenant doesnt pay. Possible home being charged
    "Oh no im not doing that"
    Why?
    "No no Im not putting my home on the line for them"
    Thank you for telling me that cos I wont be putting mine on the line either

     
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    Much of the problem of homelessness could be solved if the DWP would pay the landlord direct, not just the housing element but the whole rent. Tenants would then know what their financial situation was before they moved in and would have a genuine choice as to whether to subsidse their housing with their spending money or to seek cheaper accommodation. Until this government's 'responsibility' experiment has ended there will be increasing homelessness. I cannot do anything about the government's attitude so I cannot do anything about the homeless.

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    • 08 June 2020 13:40 PM

    Great idea.

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    It looks depressing when some overzealous landlords, as soon as 1 payment is not paid in full, want to evict their tenant(s). At this present time, not many tenants can pay full rent so the LL should really talk to their tenant and discuss a way forward with regards to accepting a lower payment, say half rent, then address any arrears later say when the tenant returns to work. Unfortunately, some LL's are just selfish and greedy. Yes they have bulls to pay but so does the tenant. Wasting taxpayers money by trying to evict the tenant in court is not the way to go. Keep the tenant in place but accept a lower payment so yo keep some money coming in so to at least cover the mortgage on the property. Maybe all this situation is a wakeup call to the Government and local authorities to build and provide more social housing not just properties to buy or share own. Also I think there should be caps on how much greedy LL's can charge rent on a property, say no more than £200pm than what a council property would be. LL's should be kept away from the courts and told to make a deal with their tenants - even get the benefit money paid directly to them and have any top ups paid by DWP out of the tenants benefit money. That guarantees payment of rent.

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    You are a dangerous fool.

     
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    • 09 June 2020 11:20 AM

    It is the tenants obligation to pay. No excuses are acceptable, whatever they say.
    Tough if they cannot. They should ensure enough savings to secure unforeseen problems. As many parents, rightly told their children to save for a rainy day.

    Today happens to be a spectacularly stormy day. Tough...Live with it, you had been warned.

    Most other countries in the world including Germany and Australia have immediate eviction if rent is not paid on the date due.....And guess what?

    There are virtually NO evictions in those countries.

    Which would you prefer?

     
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    You're way too emotional compadre...

    Looks like this was your first comment and already you're receiving derogatory responses - this is the wrong place to be if you're looking for sympathy or, dare I say it, a little understanding.

     
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    Unless you have been a landlord with the experience of at least half a dozen tenants (hundreds in my case) an opinion on how to run a BTL is actually invalid. Government ministers included.

    As far as extending the eviction ban we have now created a whole new generation benefit claimants. Its like crack addiction for some people

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    • 09 June 2020 11:22 AM

    Who is a dangerous fool?

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    Indeed, I was referring to Ray.

     
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    @David Crisp, well, if the cap fits, you should wear it... with multi-coloured pride.

     
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    @Kate Blackall, if you're experiencing problems with your investment decision then, I'm guessing, you made the wrong one ?

     
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    • 09 June 2020 15:51 PM

    Ah yes.....Well as far as I am concerned Ray, if they don't pay they go. And the faster the better.

    It is very much like "when the looting starts, the shooting begins".
    Same principle. You get punished for doing wrongly. It is only fair.

    I have already made sure my arsenal is clean, ready, and in tip top condition.

    There will for sure be a blood bath and also for sure, it will not be me.

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    Ray Sutton go Hell.

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    Don't take it to hart Micheal, Mr Sutton is just a first class prat out to wind us up, ignore him and ignore that prat Seb as well.

     
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    Come on Gents, you everything too seriously.

     
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    Oh there are a lot of sourpussies on here. If your finding things tough out there then sell up. Stop whinging and whining. Maybe you should have had contingencies in place like I have to cover such periods as this. Andrew Townshend- it takes a prat to know one!

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