Alliance Solution for Housing benefit tenants

Alliance Solution for Housing benefit tenants

20:33 PM, 12th November 2018, About 5 years ago 57

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Last Week, the newly formed Landlords Alliance came up with a unique and simple solution, to help housing benefit tenants in to new homes. We proposed that Shelter act as guarantor for housing benefit tenants. It should be remembered that this £60 Million charity offers advice, but houses nobody.

They employ over 1000 and their CEO earns over £120k. Shelter therefore could very easily offer real and practical help by offering to bond tenants. £60 M equals 15000 bonds if each guarantee was worth £4K. Obviously the majority of these tenants are good decent people, therefore the bond would not be called in. Yes imagine 15000 families empowered .

Our plan was immediately supported by hundreds of landlords and even better Karen Buck Labour MP also supported us on twitter. We thanked Karen as support flooded in with emails from benefit tenants thanking us for supporting them. Imagine our surprise and horror, when this MP then deleated her support and blocked us. This is cruel and shocking. A few weeks short of Christmas, a plan to given thousands of benefit tenants a shouting chance of a new home and the MP who liked our plan, changes her mind and offers no explanation to these people. Was Shelter involved in her decision to recant?

Did she regret her support because it might have annoyed Shelter? Who knows. Shelter instead prefer to whine about discrimination against DSS tenants.

The reality is that Landlords must pay mortages. Benefit tenants rent is paid monthly in arrears,while private tenants pay in advance. Private tenants have deposits, while very often benefit tenants do not. Landlords decisions therefore, are not based on bias, but based on commercial reality. Agents also have faced the wrath and ire of Shelter, accused of discrimination for simply acting in the best interests of their clients.

The media meanwhile have acted disgracefully like vultures sweeping in to eat the carcasses of these vile agents. This atmosphere of negativity, bile and hate can be laid at the door of Shelter.

We stepped in to de escalate this crisis. Our solution provided security for landlords and tenants alike. Are Shelter saying that housing benefit tenants are not to be trusted? Our landlords are willing to give them parity of treatment with private tenants, if the bond was forthcoming. The rent delays, payments in arrears, no credit history etc would be overlooked. Our plan was scuppered.

Who blocked it and why? Surely these tenants who have had their hopes of moving dashed before Christmas, deserve an explanation. Finally we are not interested in excuses.

We again demand that this Charity stand as Guarantor for benefit tenants. To say they assist by offering advise, does not cut the mustard. It is shameful. Real support and action is what is needed.

We are waiting, our landlords are ready and waiting but most importantly thousands of tenants are waiting

What is Shelter doing ?

And Where is Karen Buck MP?


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Comments

Seething Landlord

11:20 AM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by John McKay at 13/11/2018 - 09:33"Like I said Giles I think the whole 'like' or 'not like' is a complete waste of time."
Does Larry Sweeney agree with you? I thought it was he who was flogging this particular horse to death.

John McKay

11:32 AM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 13/11/2018 - 11:20
No idea, I haven't asked him and I've never met him. My interchange is with Giles Peaker. Mr Peaker is, rightly or wrongly, making a big deal from this but wants to ignore far more important issues re Shelter lying. As he has set himself up as a defender of the truth I'd like to 'bash' that one out with him.

Annie Landlord

18:15 PM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

The issue of whether KB liked a tweet and whether she has already concluded that the Alliance is a waste of space (which she has) is a key issue. Her Bill targets the SRS as well as the PRS and in doing so serves to highlight the fact that the SRS isn't the wonderful, safe sector that most officials like to promote. She could have been a very useful person to engage with, but Larry's spurious claims on Twitter have closed down any possibility of professional dialogue with the Alliance. Landlords also need to find a route into professional dialogue with Shelter (whose attacks on the PRS are ridiculously misguided) but, once again, tweeting silly comments about the CEO's salary, or how much they raise from their second hand shops will have closed down that avenue for the Alliance too. I despair

Seething Landlord

20:37 PM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by John McKay at 13/11/2018 - 11:32
I very much doubt that Mr Peaker will be sucked in to the wider debate. It is Larry Sweeney as CEO of the NLAlliance who in starting this thread and on Twitter made a big deal of whether or not Karen Buck "liked" one of his tweets and Mr Peaker has intervened to draw attention to her denial. The whole debacle has descended into farce and does nothing to enhance the credentials or reputation of the Alliance, quite the opposite.

AA

20:58 PM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Annie Landlord at 13/11/2018 - 09:52
"Liked" on behalf of the Alliance a tweet by the IDF .. pardon my language but …... .WTF ? Well there were people on this site who had reservations and I tip my hat to their intuition. IMHO Larry Sweeney is the last person to be playing lead in such a role. He is making an incompetent amateur look professional; Super glad I never pledged.

Big Blue

0:49 AM, 14th November 2018, About 5 years ago

John McKay. I wonder why that interminable bore Peaker has stopped replying? He seemed so keen to jump in earlier. One might almost think he doesn’t do any actual work judging by the amount of time he spends laying into landlords on every available platform. If he wants me to prove my very own ‘Shelter lying’ story, with full details, I’ll be happy to recount it... but alas, he only seems interested in certain lies, not so much those of the Shelter variety.

John McKay

6:33 AM, 14th November 2018, About 5 years ago

It was your own experience I was referring to when I have asked Mr P if he'd like to know about a second massive lie that Shelter have spread to an extremely wide audience. Funny how a series of around 4 tweets was abruptly ended (and since described as long and tedious) when he couldn't find a way out of the fact that Shelter are liars. And on this thread he has done exactly the same again. He just runs and hides.

Larry Sweeney

9:20 AM, 14th November 2018, About 5 years ago

With Respect to Mr Peaker. I note that he failed to answer a couple of basic questions.
1/ Does he represent or speak for Karen Buck.?
2/ Does he back Shelters stance of not providing bonds for housing benefit tenants.?
Mr Peaker seemed very distressed over this tweet. Why?
Is Mr Peaker a solicitor who works with Shelter on housing cases ,where private landlords are involved?
Does Mr Peaker work with the Policy director of the RLA.
Please note the Alliance has attacked the RLA for publishing Shelter essays. Yes folks, the RLA published essays by Shelter.
Thats is apart from the fact that they are coregulating rotten council schemes.
So Mr Peaker Tweet aside, declare your interests.
Moving on, to those who believe that the Alliance erred by upsetting a possible ally and should have engaged with Karen Buck ,that view is wrong.
The Alliance DID engage with KB outside of Twitter and P118. We can only conclude, because of our praise for our bill ,that she followed us and liked the tweet, possibly in error.
Karen Buck made it clear in private correspondence with us ,that she thinks Shelter are fit for purpose.
I am sure that both KB and Shelter will be delighted that I confirm this.
In our replies to KB, i made it abundantly clear that we did not agree.
The guarantees are a route to housing for these tenants and it appears that dogma stands in the way of progress. Once again we call for Shelter to step up to the plate and provide these guarantees.
In summary the Alliance did not close down communication with a possible Ally. KB sees only one side of the argument and that is crystal clear from her response in blocking us.
Over to Mr Peaker, any chance of him answering our questions.?

Annie Landlord

9:47 AM, 14th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Oh for heaven's sake Larry - sigh. You know who Giles Peaker is so why are you asking weird questions? For those who don't know, he is a partner with Anthony Gold Solicitors, writer of the Nearly Legal blog (and tweets) and co author of Karen Buck's private members bill. I follow Nearly Legal on Twitter and he criticises the SRS as well as private landlords. He said on Twitter you have deleted your entire timeline. So I checked, and you have. Why?? Would love to see some evidence of your 'off Twitter' contact with Karen Buck.

Graham Landlord

11:09 AM, 14th November 2018, About 5 years ago

This is Shelters simple solution.
They complain that we make to much money and provide a bad service. The solution is so simple, Shelter should become a real private Landlords. No special treatment, Tax breaks, handouts or discounts. It should buy houses, blocks of flats and HMO’s with normal rate mortgages. This is a double win for Shelter. One the provide accommodation and secondly they can show Landlords, by example were we are going wrong!!
I would love Shelter to explain to us all, how they deal with the tenants in their properties. How they select Tenants for their properties. We could all learn from Shelter or Shelter will learn from us! Shelter, put your money were your mouth is and show us where we are going wrong!

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