Disabled Tenant In DESPERATE Need of Good Advice

It was time that Tenants were told the truth why their rents are sky high, its the very Government Housing policy and local Authorities licensing policies that are driving rents sky high, Local Authorities want all rental accommodations to meet highest standards, but that drives rents up leaving no choice for some tenants who can be content with slightly sub-standard affordable accommodation.
As an example if you were seeking an overnight accommodation in a town you were visiting, and all the hotels or B&B were 5 stars, beyond your pocket, you would end up spending the night on a park bench, that is provided these heartless loonies have not put dividers on the benches so you can't lay down and sleep. Some building forecourts even concrete metal spikes so you can't spend a night under their forecourt. and I believe you cannot sleep in your car either.

I know one of our members had a petition going and the reply was gruesome to put it lightly.
In their reply they state the reason was to have a even playing field.
How is it so. The wealthy landlords have their let's on Ltd companies so how can they say its a even playing field.
Hmrc addresses us as business, so why do they don't allow the same allowance as other businesses.
Can we not collectively go to the justice system meaning courts?

The hypocrisy of the government and Shelter sickens me: they speak as if it is THEY who provide housing for the needy. It is not: they simply insist that someone else bears the brunt - without letting the landlords have access to much needed funding. In fact they not only reduce the landlord’s ability to rent out they even insist that tenants can default and still remain there for ages!
It’s called “convenient kindness or convenient care”! You give from others and you take the credit!
Bo$$ocks!
If they care so much then let them take on the burden of housing: buy the landlord’s property and take on his tenants. Then we’ll see there true nature!
Selective Sanctimony: the oldest trick in the book. The church thrived on it and made everyone obey - or else!
Nothing’s changed! Same old hypocrisy!
I used to be the kindest landlord ever: I soon woke up and got out. Many will follow!

Hi Charlene

Do you live in Scotland by any chance?

I think a lot of landlords will read your post and use the letter you received from your landlord as a template letter to send to their own tenants. Great observation by Mick Robert’s in this regard.

Please do keep us updated, whatever happens.

The letter should be posted on NRLA website, so all landlords can use it.

Reply to the comment left by DAMIEN RAFFERTY at 25/01/2023 - 10:54Come the February payment due next week, the payment on our interest only mortgage will have increased by a little 400% - and we have today received a text from our tenant rejecting the £35 p.c.m we had proposed (back in November) she should to start to pay from February - leading us I suspect to be forced now to issue her with an eviction notice. We too have been waiting for tenants to leave so that we can sell up - no longer an option now it seems if even such a small rent rise is rejected

Oddly enough I have had to take the same decision and visited my tenant of 10 years just yesterday (27/01). He is, and always bas been, on Housing Benefit and I took him on because his partnet had decamped to France leaving him with 3 children under 5. He has been good tenant, has paid his share of the rent on time.
The mortgage ends in July and the rate goes up to around 6%. In addition the cost to bring the house up to the projected EPC requirement is likely to be of the order of £15,000 and will require the tenant to move out anyway while the work is done.
It was a difficult decision and a difficult meeting. As he is on benefit it's likely it will take 6 months to get possession in a falling sales market.
The tenant took it well and I explained all his options but it's a decision that I should not have been pushed into making due to the government's decisions to target private landlords.
This is not the only one, I have 2 more to deal with over the next couple of weeks though they are private tenants but will still have problems finding somewhere else.
I have done the sums and on the assumption I can get the sales through by the end of the year our income will be very similar.
Finally I had an interesting conversation with my contact at the local council. I asked if he had talked to other landlords and he said that in this area they expected to lose 100+ properties currently housing people on housing benefit who will probably end up in emergency accommodation due to lack of supply.

Hi Charlene. I understand your plight as I too have a disabled tenant of 17years who would hate to have to move & although I've not put the rent up for 6years & she pays 20% below local housing assoc rates & at least 35% below the current market rent, I agreed not to increase her rent over the next year due the energy crisis but in due course I will be faced with no choice. Assuming you want to stay on, you first need to clarify with your landlord whether he would still want to sell if the rent covered his costs. If the answer is he would keep the property and be happy for you to stay on if his costs were covered, then discuss how much the rent needs to increase by to achieve this. Assuming it's a realistic increase, as advised by Mark, speak with your Welfare Officer, Benefits Adviser or Disability Employment Advisor to determine if you would qualify for this level of increase in Benefits. If however, your landlord still needs to sell as he needs the capital from the sale proceeds to meet debt he's run up or other mounting costs or just because mentally (not just financially) he can't weather being a landlord anymore especially as the landscape for landlords looks set to get worse, then by all means recommend he speak with one of P118s Tax Planning Consultant to see if they can help advise him, but ask him to bear with you whilst you try to find alternative accommodation albeit not easy in this climate especially if you need a certain type of property to accommodate your needs, but do keep him regularly updated on your progress as regular communication tends to stop people acting in haste & to be more patient & understanding. Good luck Charlene.

It saddens me that all landlords are always assumed to be bad guys, this is the default setting for most media. We are not, but as documented the agenda is to force us to exit with what alternative for those who can't buy?

It will be interesting to know how Charlene responds to her landlord after all the good advice that she has received.