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10:09 AM, 1st March 2024, About 2 months ago 83
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Council leaders from across the political spectrum have asked the housing secretary, Michael Gove, to support an amendment to the Renters (Reform) Bill that would give tenants more time to find a new home if they are evicted.
Sky News says it has obtained a letter, signed by 103 local authority leaders, including the leader of Rishi Sunak’s constituency council in North Yorkshire, that urges Mr Gove to increase eviction notice periods from two months to four.
The letter, which was co-ordinated by the campaign group Renters Reform Coalition, says that this change would ‘give tenants more security and time to find a new home which suits their needs in the event they are evicted’ and would ‘reduce the number of people claiming homelessness support following the end of a private tenancy’.
The Renters (Reform) Bill, which is currently going through Parliament will ban Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions which allow landlords to reclaim properties without giving a reason.
The campaign manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, Tom Darling, told Sky News the Bill ‘has many positive aspects – but it is still insufficient to address the scale of the crisis in the private rented sector’.
He said: “The two months being proposed, like the status quo, will leave renters frantically scrambling to find a suitable new home in time, with many ending up presenting as homeless to their local council when this search comes up empty.
“Not only will increasing notice periods provide more security for England’s 11 million private renters and alleviate some of the suffering in our housing system, it will also provide some much needed respite to local authorities buckling under the growing cost of temporary accommodation.”
However, under the Bill, landlords would only be able to evict tenants in England for specific reasons, such as selling their house or having a relative move in.
The Bill would keep a two-month notice period for these cases, which the Renters Reform Coalition argues is not enough for many people to secure alternative accommodation.
The coalition says that the end of private tenancies is the main cause of homelessness, with recent data showing that more than a quarter of eligible claims for homelessness support were made because a private tenancy had ended.
The letter states: “As you will know, Section 21 evictions are a leading cause of statutory homelessness – many renters are unable to find new accommodation in the two months available after being served an S21 eviction and end up being housed in temporary accommodation.”
The number of households living in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2012, reaching record highs, including the highest number of homeless children – more than 138,000 – since records began.
Last year, councils in England warned that spending on temporary accommodation was threatening to ‘overwhelm’ their budgets.
Analysis from the Local Government Association (LGA) last year showed that ‘at least’ £1.74bn was spent supporting 104,000 households in the year ending in March – the highest amount since records began in 1998.
And this week, London Councils warned that several London boroughs are facing bankruptcy trying to meet homelessness bills.
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PETER harvey
10:43 AM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
i find that when tenants leave owing money and also their other debts the councils are at fault because they know where they have moved to as most claim housing benefit but will never let the landlords know so that we can recover our debts. even council tax and water rates are just written off every time the tenants are re-housed by the council. usually given new houses or housing association properties and then start all over again in the same way
;h
TJP
11:47 AM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Four months? I'd give my right arm for four months. The notice period on a tenancy agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on. I gave my tenant notice to leave in December 2021. He's still there !!! Willesden County Court deferred my section 21 by 2 years. My subsequent Section 8 succeeded in October of last year but I am now five months waiting for an eviction date.
Four months. What a joke !!!!! PS I'm currently £16000 out of pocket between lost rent and legal fees.
Happy housing
12:05 PM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TJP at 08/03/2024 - 11:47
Why is it delayed for 2 years, never heard that before
toby marsden
13:14 PM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TJP at 08/03/2024 - 11:47
TJP
no words TJP
its communism pure and simple
Big Corporate Govt want Mom and Pop Landlords out of business so Blackrock can take over!
GlanACC
16:56 PM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by PETER harvey at 08/03/2024 - 10:43
Actually the utilities dont always write off the debts , they will use a tracing agency to find the new address (which can take many months for it to 'pop up'). You can use a tracing agency as well (costs around £40), but leave it for a year before you do.
Happy housing
17:03 PM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 08/03/2024 - 16:56
Yes months maybe years, been over 1 year for me know, Agent still has not located x tenant. I think they know what to do.
GlanACC
17:56 PM, 8th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Happy housing at 08/03/2024 - 17:03
As I previously was employed by one of the big credit reference agencies (writing software), then I am pretty familiar with how people ‘disappear’.
When a tenant moves without giving a forwarding address and you want to recover money from them, then you have to wait for their new address to be linked to the old address.
A person is identified by name(s) and date of birth. There are a number of primary sources in determining the new address
Electoral Register, but most people in debt that do not want to be traced don’t bother registering (means they can’t vote).
A credit agreement, mobile phone contract (when trying to avoid paying debts people often change the mobile number) etc. They have to give previous addresses for these, which ARE checked by the finance companies. (When trying to avoid paying debts, they may leave direct debits etc active but don’t tell the finance company they have moved)
Bank data is not available to the credit reference agencies.
Government held addresses (Council Tax, HMRC, DVLA, Benefits etc) are not available for use by the credit reference agencies with very few exceptions (yup, data protection !).
So until a tenant registers on the electoral register at the new address or takes out a new, or amends a finance agreement then they will still be shown at the old address.
So, the tracing agencies will use the data supplied by one of the top 3 credit reference agencies, and if they don’t have the up to date address then you just have to wait.
Chris Brown
15:06 PM, 12th March 2024, About 2 months ago
How many nails to seal the coffin on the PRS?
If they are going to allow months notice it had better be that:
- all arrears area cleared
- the rent is paid promptly every month, or the date of vacation becomes due one week later
- the move out on the date specfied.
It is time the government understood that a tenancy is a contract and needs to be fulfilled by both parties. If th tenant cant affor the rent, move on before the debt grows beyond the deposit.
Yellard
21:21 PM, 12th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by No at 01/03/2024 - 02:46
The vast majority of Section 21 evictions are for rent arrears, damage to the property or anti social behaviour.. Why should such tenants have longer notice? At the moment they already have had their full term of the contract. Mr Grove's stupid (very stupid) claim that it will be easier to evict anti social tenants without waiting for the fixed term tenancy to expire as "hearsay" evidence will be allowed in court eviction proceedings is nonsense. If landlords can (supposedly) have hearsay evidence, then why not tenants also. His proposal, if passed, will soon be overruled with Gen Rent and Shelter screaming about "hearsay evictions".. Grove should have just extended periodic tenancies to one year and allow Councils to randomly inspect properties receiving housing benefit /UC and cut the benefit if the property is substandard. Benefit on the PROPERTY would/should remain reduced until the landlord makes improvements... SIMPLES..
TJP
23:30 PM, 12th March 2024, About 2 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Happy housing at 08/03/2024 - 12:05I took out a section 21. It took 7 months to get to court. At the hearing, the judge invented a deposit for my tenant and deferred by a month. The month became 5 months and the 5 months became 1 year and 6 months. No reasons offered! Add the 7 plus the 5 plus the 1 year and 6. Total 2 years. No explanation as to why. In the meantime I have succeeded with a section 8. Bailiff applied for last October. As I write, and despite many attempts by my solicitor, I await an eviction date: 5 months and counting... No explanation from the court as to why it is taking so long. I will be selling up as soon as I possibly can, but I like to think I am one of the many good BTL landlords and I will not dump on my tenants simply because Gove and the tories, and the council, and the taxman and the corrupt court system have dumped on me !