Government policy to blame for landlords turning to asylum seeker accommodation

Landlords are being demonised by the government and the media which means they will increasingly turn to asylum seeker accommodation as a consequence.

In an exclusive video interview with Property118, the chairman of the Eastern Landlords Association, Paul Cunningham, warns selective licensing schemes will lead landlords to rent their properties to companies like Serco for asylum seeker accommodation.

He also calls for a new national organisation to stand up for landlords and bust the landlord myths.

Watch the video interview below

Selective licensing will push landlords to asylum seeker accommodation

In Great Yarmouth, the council have plans to introduce a selective licensing scheme for more than 5,000 properties in the area to improve housing conditions.

However, Paul warns that the scheme “is not only short-sighted by the council who cannot see the consequences of their own actions” and the “final straw for many landlords,” but also claims it will lead landlords to offer their properties to asylum seeker accommodation instead.

He explains: “The government passed legislation to try and free up hotels so there are no longer asylum seekers in hotels, and they’ve offered the contract to Serco to find housing for asylum seekers.

“Great Yarmouth is one of those areas, and I’ve told the council the selective licensing scheme will lead to landlords going down the asylum seeker accommodation route, simply because it will take their dealings away with the council.

“Landlords are completely fed up with the council and everything they do towards landlords, so an option for them is to go down the Serco route.”

Paul says he has personally discussed the option of leasing his properties to Serco.

He says: “It was purely only for the selective licensing scheme, and I’ve emailed members of the Eastern Landlords Association saying this could be an option if you choose.

“We are here to put options to landlords, and they can decide how they want to run their business.

“The level of interest with landlords about offering accommodation has been phenomenal, but it will be a loss of properties to that council for local people.”

Landlords are demonised

As reported on Property118, the government is expecting more landlords to accommodate asylum seekers.

However, as seen in the comments on Property118, many landlords say that it’s “rich asking for help when the government have done nothing to help landlords.”

Paul says landlords thinking of doing this is a consequence of government legislation.

He says: “We’re demonised at the government level all the way down to local authority level.

“Now they’ve suddenly realised we need the private rented sector. There’s no joined-up thinking of the consequences of these actions. It’s not just Great Yarmouth, it’s across the whole country that Serco have been given government contracts purely to find suitable housing for asylum seekers.

“For every property that an asylum seeker takes, then that’s one less property for someone in the local area to take.”

New national organisation to represent landlords

Paul says politicians demonising landlords has come as a problem of organisations not standing up for landlords and he is calling for a new national organisation to represent them.

He says: “We have no representation in government. The only national organisation that is meant to represent us is becoming pointless.

“It has no voice because of the way the government treats the industry. The government just rides roughshod over anything.

“There’s no better time than now to have a national association that lobbies government in a robust way in order to get some change.”

Paul believes this new landlord organisation needs to have a strong voice and be more like tenant groups such as Shelter, which have a powerful media presence that puts pressure on the government.

He explains: “You see Shelter in the media every week, compared to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), which struggles to be heard. Until we have a robust organisation willing to stand up firmly, the government will continue to ride roughshod over us.”

Stand up before the media and say this is wrong

Paul points to the NRLA supporting the abolition of Section 21, which he says is unbelievable.

He said: “It’s the biggest part of the legislation in the Renters’ Rights Bill that will affect landlords.

“It’s unbelievable how they have come to the conclusion to support the abolition, but unfortunately, they don’t represent landlords.”

Paul says a new national organisation must challenge the negative narrative portraying landlords as “rich and greedy,” rather than remaining silent.

He says: “At the moment, the media isn’t interested in what landlords have to say. No tenant ever rings up the media and says, ‘my landlord is really good’, that’s not a story. They only want bad news.

“Tenant associations only focus on the negative, and if an individual landlord tries to counter that, there’s no platform for them. That’s exactly where a national association should step in, to stand before the media and say this is wrong.”

Renters’ Rights Bill is the final nail in the coffin for landlords

Paul explains it’s not just the Eastern Landlords Association who feel the private rented sector is in crisis.

He said: “I don’t think East Anglia’s landlords’ views are unique. I think landlords across the country feel that this sector has never been in such a poor state.

“There’s a massive housing shortage. Local authorities cannot supply the level of housing needed for people.

“It astounds me that the attitude they have towards the private rented sector is just causing even more of a shortage.

“Homelessness is rising across the country, and I think it will carry on in this vein until the government and local authorities decide the private rented sector is vital to our housing needs.”

Paul says the Renters’ Rights Bill is the final nail in the coffin for many landlords and will lead them to leave the sector.

He explains: “The demographic for landlords in this country is 50+ and the majority of them are smaller landlords with one to three properties, and they are thinking ‘enough is enough, I can’t deal with this added burden, now is the time to sell.’

“This creates even more of a shortage of available properties, and when there is a shortage of anything, prices go up.”

Paul says he hears talk of the Renters’ Rights Bill and selective licensing as a landlord tax, but he says it’s not just that.

He explains: “It’s not just a landlord tax, it’s a tenant tax, because like any other business, costs have to cascade down to the customer, and it’s inevitable it will be the tenant who suffers the most, as they won’t find anywhere to live or can’t afford it.”

Government doesn’t care about landlords

Paul says that despite claims from both Labour and Conservative governments that they want to support landlords in the private rented sector, the reality is different.

He says: “I don’t think politicians give two hoots about private landlords as they wouldn’t have gone down the route of demonising us.

“The Renters’ Rights Bill will cause more problems for landlords and tenants. I can’t imagine once the bill becomes law a landlord will take any tenant that doesn’t have a guarantor, and of course, some tenants don’t have family or friends who can be guarantors.”

Paul says things will get worse before they get better.

He explains: “I think when the government sees the level of homelessness increasing even more than it is now, then maybe the penny will drop and realise they shouldn’t have done this, but I fear it may be too little, too late.”

A landlord for more than 35 years

Paul has been a landlord for more than 35 years and joined an organisation to help give landlords a stronger collective voice, a group that would later grow into the Eastern Landlords Association.

“I became a landlord as I thought it was a good idea,” he explains.

“At the time, the only association around was the Norwich Landlords Association. There were about 10 or 11 local landlords who’d meet to talk about issues affecting them in the area.”

As his property portfolio grew, Paul became more involved in the group and watched it evolve.

He says: “The Norwich Landlords Association became the Eastern Landlords Association, and we widened our net across East Anglia. It’s now a healthy, vibrant association.”

Paul is now the Chairman and Director of the Eastern Landlords Association.

Future of the private rented sector

Paul says the future of the private rented sector is bleak and more smaller landlords will continue to leave the market.

He tells Property118: “I think the days are gone for the small private landlord. If you’ve got two or three properties and you are self-managing, for you to keep up with the changes in legislation and everything that’s required of you in order to manage that property and make it comfortable for your tenants is nigh on impossible.

“The more it goes forward, it will be professional landlords with the big portfolios — who have a big team behind them, that will be the ones who stay in the sector.

“The days of accidental landlords, where there has been a death in the family and someone inherits a property, are over. They will now sell instead of rent out.

“The abolition of Section 21 will be part of that because if you can’t get the tenant out and they are not paying the rent, that will bankrupt you.”

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