Generation Rent wants the Government to force landlords to accept more risk

Generation Rent wants the Government to force landlords to accept more risk

17:17 PM, 1st June 2021, About 3 years ago 40

Text Size

Many people will have heard on the radio over the Bank Holiday weekend reports about the eviction ban ending. A Joseph Rowntree Trust claim that 800,000 households face losing their homes was repeated throughout the day. Not once did Radio 4 or Times Radio mention rent arrears. Not once did they say that many landlords have received no rent for months and in some cases are themselves in financial difficulties because of that.

No landlords were interviewed. Nobody made the obvious point that, in the current climate, sensible landlords won’t evict without good reason and also that they still need to give four months’ notice under s21 so (law of unintended consequences at work) it is logical and prudent to s21 serve notices now just in case.

This morning (1st June 2021) Radio 4’s Today Programme. (I have listened again on the Sounds App to ensure I heard correctly) was enlightening. For a piece about landlords asking for six months’ rent in advance, they interviewed Dan Wilson Craw (DWC) of Generation Rent. The programme host, to be fair, did suggest there might be a backlash by landlords because of the eviction ban. Some landlords having had a bad experience of not being paid took rent upfront to provide some security. Too right.

DWC’s immediate response was to complain about landlords “wanting to avoid risk”. He criticised us for filtering out tenants on benefits and for “wanting to screen out those who [we] think may not be able to afford [the rent] in future”.  Guilty as charged, m’lud. If a prospective tenant looks as if they can’t pay the rent, I don’t want him or her especially if I have to wait for months of arrears to accumulate.

DWC’s proposal was, and I quote: “The Government needs to give tenants more options and force landlords to take on ..er.. accept more risk”.  Well, at least that is clear. Landlords, as distinct from other businesses, must be compelled to act imprudently. Having been stung already, we should take on more risk. There was no acknowledgement by DWC that landlords who are thousands of pounds out of pocket can’t be expected to act as if nothing had happened. We are just involuntary creditors to be treated as milch cows.

What happens when businesses are required to accept more risk? Well it often ends badly. Remember the sub-prime loan crisis made much worse when left-wing politicians pressured banks to lend to people with bad credit histories. Many people lost their homes and some were bankrupted.

I hope that politicians are listening. If they expect landlords to take more risk then rents will have to go up to compensate for increased defaults. More defaults and landlords will obtain more County Court judgments. More tenants will have credit scores ruined, making it harder than ever for them to buy a house.

 

If Generation Rent have their wish I predict rents will go up, more tenants will default. More CCJs, more misery all round. Not a great policy. A modicum of analysis would show it is unsustainable. Generation Rent don’t seem to realise that they will hurt the people they profess to support. If DWC or anyone else at GR would care to comment on this board, please do so.


Share This Article


Comments

NewYorkie

0:52 AM, 3rd June 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 02/06/2021 - 22:52
The big cities have a younger population, high paying companies, and thus high rents and property prices. Their left-leaning mayors are therefore elected by younger voters who hear the words 'rent control' without understanding the consequences... until it's too late. Sadiq Khan went on about rent controls and got elected again. Clearly more important to Londoners than not being knifed in public! Let's see if he really is a stupid as most think.

Chris @ Possession Friend

8:50 AM, 3rd June 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 03/06/2021 - 00:52Yes Yorkie, that's true. Also people of certain ethnicities have a huge predisposition to supporting their 'own' and maintaining the status quo. When non-white make up the majority in 22 out of the 33 London boroughs its not hard to understand tribal loyalty.
I covered Housing demand when interviewed on David Vance a few months ago.
Look at the organisation of 20 tenant support groups forming the Renters Reform Coalition, ( many of them hard left like Momentum )
put that against what Landlords can manage, Zero collaboration ! ( unfortunately )
I have been advocating since Before the renters coalition, that All regional Landlord associations, including online blogs like P118, form a Renters Association. - something like what was brought together albeit temporarily ( sadly ) a couple of years ago to address abolishment of sec 21, the Fair Possession Coalition.
That needs to be a permanent group, led by an committee, as Landlords across the country who are customers of ARLA and members of various landlord groups other than NRLA, can have a voice.

Mick Roberts

9:06 AM, 3rd June 2021, About 3 years ago

Great wording Ian,
I the biggest Benefit Landlord in Nottingham am no longer taking Benefit tenants. None of 'em come ask me why.
The grief I've had last few weeks with Shelter. I asked my tenant to go to Shelter, see if they could swing ote with UC as we were getting nowhere. All Shelter did was advise him about illegal eviction. I said I WANT TO KEEP him in the house, not ruddy evict him AAAAhhhhh.
So if I ain't taking any more, we have a problem. I know this now, as none of mine can leave. And I want to retire. I can't pack up & am being forced to oblige by more onerous regs when I don't want the houses any more. Spending £1000's on EPC to a C when I'm only keeping the house for the tenant. Wake up Govt, what are u doing for them tenants who love their home & their Landlord (ha ha yes they do) who don't want u punishing their Landlord any more, cause 1 more thing & he's selling a tenants home-When there wasn't a problem before.
That's what lots of these new rules have done, may have helped 1% or even 20%, but the majority have now got it much worse.
Before all these enforcements since about 2015, can we all remember how we weren't talking about homeless & evictions etc.? The more rules the Govt & Councils & Shelter & Generation Rent have called for, the worse they've made it for tenants. Hurt the Landlord = Hurt the tenant.

Judith Wordsworth

13:57 PM, 3rd June 2021, About 3 years ago

Generation Rent will see many more of us coming out of the rental market. Then where do they suggest people live?

AP

7:57 AM, 5th June 2021, About 3 years ago

“Also people of certain ethnicities have a huge predisposition to supporting their 'own' and maintaining the status quo. When non-white make up the majority in 22 out of the 33 London boroughs its not hard to understand tribal loyalty.”

This discussion has nothing to do with race and it’s pretty appalling that you seem to think it has.

HardworkingLandlord

9:58 AM, 5th June 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 03/06/2021 - 08:50
Chris - your comment about London race ratios is completely irrelevant and frankly quite offensive and detracts from the rest of your point which has some validity. You clearly do not live or work in London and do not know how the city that pays for the butter and jam for the rest of the UK works. What do you mean by “their own”? The fact is that a lot of people rent in London and politically are more likely to follow an anti-landlord politician. In fact this is not a London problem but a national problem given that Tories have decided to sacrifice 1.9m British landlord votes with anti-landlord policies in an attempt to attract votes from Generation Rent. Apologise and edit your post.

Chris @ Possession Friend

12:53 PM, 5th June 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by HardworkingLandlord at 05/06/2021 - 09:58
@ Hardworking landlord, what I've stated is FACT, and I can provide the reference, so why should I apologise, and No I'm not going to. If facts offend some people, so be it.
And yes I worked in London for 10 years and regularly visit, have a number of landlord clients in London and from Overseas, so see no need for any lecturers from you or anyone else.

HardworkingLandlord

15:13 PM, 5th June 2021, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 05/06/2021 - 12:53
Chris - What is the "FACT" - that there are more non-whites than whites in some London boroughs?
What is the relevance of this to the debate? You make a statement, you have to explain it?

AP

17:04 PM, 5th June 2021, About 3 years ago

It seems as if the post about race has taken what might be a fact about the ethnic makeup of certain London boroughs (I don’t know and don’t care frankly to look it up, having lived happily most of my life in London) and somehow drawn an imaginary line to assert that’s why Khan is the current mayor (not Johnson or Livingstone before him though?)

Because he’s non white and non whites support ‘their own’ - is that what you meant?

And what has Khan’s race, and that of his supporters got to do with his housing policies anyway?

Following your logic, we can blame the white population for supporting ‘their own’ in Cameron & Osborne for gifting us the mortgage interest changes?

Do you realise how ridiculous this all sounds?

Back to the actual thread and most Londoners support rent control. Because they think it’s better for them - either as renters or they are single home owners who think it doesn’t effect them (or may benefit them with children who rent etc). It’s pretty simple & has nothing to do with race.

Ingrid Bacsa

10:04 AM, 17th June 2021, About 3 years ago

If we smaller landlords want to survive we need to let differently:

Holiday lets - I understand tenants CAN stay but only if the Landlord agrees to renew, regularly.

Let rooms in shared accommodation - with a live in landlord of your choice. Some disadavatages financially but not nearly as many losses as an assured shorthold tenancy with weak deposits and painfully slow evictions.

No to families and no to couples is best (regretfully) . Let the Council take responsibility for them since they maintain the power , regardless of whoever has to take responsibility.

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Tax Planning Book Now