Financial support needs to be made available to landlords with tenants who have fallen into arrears relating to Covid-19 and can prove loss of employment, according to Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action.
Following the announcement of another national lockdown, Shamplina says there is no end in sight for desperate landlords and there must now be government support.
The tenant eviction expert believes that BTL landlords who qualify should be offered rent contribution with a view to not taking action against their tenant. He also supports the idea of providing tenants in England with access to a Tenant Hardship Loan Fund.
He said: “This is an exceptionally difficult situation for everyone and as before it is vital that tenants who are genuinely impacted by the pandemic are protected from losing their home. Echoing calls from the NRLA, the government should be following Scotland and Wales and providing access to a Tenant Hardship Loan Fund to prevent further possession action.
“However, it should not be a case of protecting tenants over landlords or vice versa, it should be about protecting people. We now have a situation where some landlords have rent arrears cases which started in 2019 and they still do not have possession of their property, nor are they receiving any rent. Some of these landlords have also lost jobs and are trying to cover mortgages.
“Landlords are desperate for some kind of timescale. The reality is that the ban on evictions will now continue throughout lockdown, and it could even be April or May before bailiffs are able to enforce evictions, depending on what kind of restrictions or tier systems are put in place in spring. All the while, caseloads are increasing but old cases are not being cleared.
“Since the property market remains open for people to move home and Courts are still operating, it should be made possible for pre-Covid eviction cases to proceed. If something is not done soon to alleviate the mounting pressure on landlords, the market will experience a surge of illegal evictions and landlords selling with tenants in situ.”
It’s incredible that hardship loans haven’t yet been introduced in England when the devolved governments introduced loans months ago.
A good piece.
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The Tenant Loans should be to Landlords, as Wales have done. –
HOWEVER, the provision of loans should be linked to Possession proceedings and where the tenants chooses Not to take up the option of a loan, accelerated Possession timescales ( quicker than Pre-Covid ) should apply.
Otherwise the recidivist Rogue tenants will simply not apply, knowing the position that government have placed Landlords and the resulting backlog delays of that.
The choice for tenants would be put themselves in debt to somebody else other than Landlord or just sit tight with Free housing for about 18 months.
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Will never happen.
Just consider the Govt rhetoric.
Govt simply doesn’t care if LL are put out of business.
Govt has no intention of supporting English LL.
Utilising their assets is saving Govt billions in TA costs.
Govt knows that very few of these rent defaulting tenants will ever pay their rent arrears.
Essentially Govt is involved in a mass asset stripping exercise from LL.
Name anyone who cares that LL are being effectively robbed of their assets!!
The more unviable Govt can make being a LL the better it likes it.
What Mr Shamplina states is of course totally correct.
Unfortunately LL would be deluding themselves if they expect Govt to come to their aid.
Govt seeks LL destruction.
They are hardly going to support them to prevent that destruction!
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Sadly, Paul, I fear you are correct. The government sees more votes in it for them, from tenants than landlords.
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But of course such Govt rhetoric trades on tenant ignorance.
Who is going to explain to tenants that a smaller PRS is very bad news for them.
All the usual suspects refuse to explain to tenants the negative impact of fewer properties to let.
It is obvious to LL but nobody is explaining these circumstances to tenants.
Will any tenant realise that fewer rental properties are the last thing they need.
There is only so much explaining that LL can do and how much of it will be taken any notice of by tenants and lodgers?
Already S24 has caused me to have to increase rents and now I’ve had to reduce them due to CV19.
Just not tenable.
I have to get out of the PRS ASAP.
So Govt has been successful in forcing me out of business.
I won’t miss it as I intend to invest in one house taking in lodgers.
Lodgers are far more effective as a business for my particular domestic circumstances.
I’ve already got rid of one non-rent paying lodger.
No court process required at all.
1 month notice and she’s gone.
Already sourced replacement lodgers moving in the day after she vacates.
Single unrelated Lodgers are the way to go
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