Alliance Solution for Housing benefit tenants

Alliance Solution for Housing benefit tenants

20:33 PM, 12th November 2018, About 6 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

LANDLORD 35

19:45 PM, 14th November 2018, About 6 years ago

https://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2011/07/why-is-the-dclg-funding-shelter.html
The above link is to an article published on the Conservative Home website in 2011. "Why is the DCLG funding Shelter?"
The author concludes that the taxpayers money given to shelter would be better spent on building homes. It is as relevant today as it was in 2011

Larry Sweeney

7:50 AM, 15th November 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to Annie. Please get your facts correct. I do not have a timeline on Twitter nor have I deleated anything.
The Alliance does indeed have a twitter account and the member who runs the account ,does as he sees fit at any particular time. It is unfortunate Annie that as a landlord you see fit to attack the Alliance. I personally however do have sympathy for you however, all your life in the charity business and now watching the Alliance expose a so called charity for what it is. We know who Peaker is, however many readers may not hence the questions. Full marks to Graham Chilvers and others re their take on Shelter. Stop Whinging Annie. Being wishy washy is no use to the community.
Once again on behalf of all housing benefit tenants, the Landlords Alliance call upon Shelter to provide bonds for housing benefit tenants.

Annie Landlord

8:52 AM, 15th November 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Larry Sweeney at 15/11/2018 - 07:50
Please don't attack another landlord simply because they disagree with your approach. All of the Alliance's tweets were deleted, possibly on legal advice? That's a sensible move. Shelter's stance on the PRS needs to be challenged, but your/Alliance's twitter feed bought only ridicule. Because I worked for so many charities I know how they are operate, what proportion of their budgets are spent on advertising and media activity, what percentage they are required to keep in reserve, the process to set up, or change, their strategy. I don't like Shelter's strategy, but I will continue to act as a professional. That is not being wishy washy - its being sensible. I'm seriously concerned that, if the Alliance doesn't act professionally, it will bring the sector into disrepute.

Seething Landlord

10:33 AM, 15th November 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Annie Landlord at 15/11/2018 - 08:52
Annie, don't expect to win this argument, it has been obvious from the outset that anybody who dares to take a different point of view or attitude from the self-appointed mouthpiece of the alliance will be condemned as a detractor and a whinger.

Annie Landlord

16:26 PM, 15th November 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 15/11/2018 - 10:33
I'm hoping that by asking my questions, Larry will take a step back and consider developing a workable strategy for the Alliance that is made available to all the people (how many?) who have paid him their £100. Its all been a bit bull in a china shop at the moment and all very worrying

Layla .

17:04 PM, 16th November 2018, About 6 years ago

I'm a little new to debating like this so please forgive me.

There seems to be the suggestion that Larry's tactical methods may be counterproductive but it seems to me that his strategy is blindingly brilliant.

I avoid twatter like the plague so I havent seen the exchange in question myself and figure I dont need to having read the commentary here.

Hes basically saying - either have skin in the game or STFU instead of impacting other peoples reality with ideology.

I find myself wondering why anyone here would be shouting him down, diverting the debate to a derailing side issue and avoiding answering a straight question that has been repeated over and over.

More or less every PRS landlord is dissatisfied with the way they are being attacked from all sides and it seems to me that every related "professional service provider" is happy to discuss these shortcomings whilst sat in their centrally heated offices as long as they can keep collecting fees with little or none of their own skin in the game.

One could prematurely concude that we wouldnt sell so many guns if there was an end to war but I may be naive there.

There also seems to be the suggestion that Larry is something of a Tommy Robinson type character, if so then as a marginalised minority individual I'm certainly not with him on that.

But that doesnt make him wrong here, far from it.

It seems to me that hes in danger of being sacrificed to the god of maintaining the status quo which certainly does not serve the landlords interest.

Why not get behind or even alongside him with some "professional" public relations management instead?

If you do actually want to see change for the better that is?

Laura Delow

10:19 AM, 17th November 2018, About 5 years ago

It seems the only way to be heard & for change to be brought about, is to stop being polite & politically correct & instead be disruptive, blunt & yes - in some cases rude aka the Nigel Farage & Donald Trump approach. Even if you don't agree one iota with their views, at least they succeeded in getting people to sit up & pay attention & getting the job done & most importantly; change brought about. The landlord community has been under attack for too long in all matters; taxation, costs, fees, regulation/legislation & with no end in sight. All else seems to have failed by the likes of the RLA & NLA & may be it is time for the Larry Sweeney approach.

TheMaluka

10:50 AM, 17th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Annie Landlord at 15/11/2018 - 08:52
Annie the sector is already in disrepute, the Government, Shelter and Generation Rent along with their allies have made it so. The Alliance seeks to alter that situation by whatever means it takes. The NLA and RLA have blatantly failed to stop the incessant attacks on the one sector which is providing a solution and the attacks have to be stopped.

Clint

12:00 PM, 17th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Laura Delow at 17/11/2018 - 10:19I am not a fan of either Farage or Trump but Laura, you have summed it up well. I have read all the comments and without making any further comments on those posted, I can only say that I am in full support of Larry and the Alliance. There is no other body that so blatantly fights for us and it really shocks me that there are Landlords out there attacking Larry's approaches when all he is doing is supporting us all. He may not be perfect but so far, as far as I am concerned he has done a wonderful job and we should support him rather than fight him.
I also fully agree with Layla's comment:
There seems to be the suggestion that Larry's tactical methods may be counterproductive but it seems to me that his strategy is blindingly brilliant.

Seething Landlord

12:33 PM, 17th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Time will tell whether the strategy works. I see that generation rent are now advocating a government-backed rent guarantee insurance scheme, which is the first sensible thing that I've heard from them and is something that I suspect most landlords would support. It could be a real game changer although the downside is that they are also advocating several other measures that we would not be happy with.

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