RLA Probes Shelter Anti Landlord Propaganda

RLA Probes Shelter Anti Landlord Propaganda

13:47 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago 17

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RLA Probes Shelter Anti Landlord Propoganda

The data, published jointly between Shelter and British Gas suggest that over the last year, 200,000 tenants in the private rented sector have “faced eviction” because they asked their landlord to fix a problem in their home. However Shelter has ignored the inconvenient truths.

Based on Shelter’s data, which indicates that there are  9 million tenants in the private rented sector in England, 200,00 is  only a little over 2 per cent of all tenants, meaning almost 98 per cent have not faced the problems Shelter and British Gas warn of. It should also be noted that these figures refer only to tenants facing evictions and not actual evictions.

Official figures published by the Ministry of Justice in February show that in 2013, the total for all tenants – in both public and private housing – having their homes repossessed by the courts amounted to 37,739 homes. This combined figure equates to only 0.5 per cent of all rented homes in England. Shelter admit to scaling up the figures from their research.

Shelter also fails to explain how many of the tenants were failing to pay their rent on time and how many of the “evictions” were as a result of tenancies coming to a close. In this instance, many landlords may have sought possession of their properties in order to embark on refurbishments. It is also noticeable that Shelter fails to indicate how many tenant evictions are as a result of anti-social behaviour.

Figures from the English Housing Survey show also that the proportion of tenants satisfied with their properties are higher in the private rented than the social sector. 83 per cent of tenants in private rented homes are satisfied with their accommodation compared to 81 per cent in the social sector.

Responding to the report, Alan Ward, Chairman of the Residential Landlords’ Association said:

“Shelter are once again needlessly playing to people’s fears.

“Whilst the RLA accepts that there are landlords who should be rooted out of the sector, the fact that almost 98 per cent of tenants have not faced the problems should be a sober reminder to Shelter that the majority of tenants face no problems whatsoever with their landlord.

“The best response to the problems that Shelter identifies is to encourage more good landlords into the sector in order to boost the supply of homes to rent and to provide tenants with genuine choices over where they live. Shelter’s continued vilification of landlords will serve only to put the good landlords off further investment in the sector and push tenants into the hands of those operating under the radar.” 

In a report on regulation in the sector due to be published shortly, Professor Michael Ball of Reading University finds that:

“Private landlords felt frustrated that they are always treated as potential devils, while social landlords are always seen in official eyes and political rhetoric as angels. In contrast to such publicly aired views, it was pointed out that surveys of tenant satisfaction actually show better results for the private sector. Nor is the social housing stock consistently in tip-top condition.” 


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Industry Observer

19:55 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

"Failing" in what respect Mark?

Remember you cannot always look from the angle of a Landlord

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:23 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Industry Observer " at "12/03/2014 - 19:55":

I think the Scottish Association of Landlords summed it up best in this comment >>> http://www.property118.com/rant-about-scottish-letting-regulation/43439/comment-page-3/#comment-28259

I quote ....

The Scottish Association of Landlords position on Landlord Registration has not changed since we published this piece in January, and we continue to call for proper enforcement of existing legislation such as this.

Landlord registration branded a costly farce
20 January 2013

A multi-million pound scheme introduced to crack down on rogue landlords has resulted in only 11 people being reported to the procurator fiscal in two years.

The Landlord Registration Scheme has so far cost landlords and the taxpayer nearly £18 million since 2006.

That breakdown revealed responsible landlords have paid £11.2 million in fees, while the start-up Scottish Government grant for the scheme was £5.2 million.

Annual running fees for the website since 2006 are estimated to be just under £300,000.

Despite that cost, only a handful of cases have made it as far as the Crown Office, and only 40 landlords have been refused registration, compared with 200,000 successful applicants.

The details emerged following a series of parliamentary questions by Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone.

It means those who let out property and were forced to join the scheme on the grounds it would deal with rogue landlords have paid significant sums, only to see a tiny amount of enforcement.

Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Alex Johnstone MSP said:

“This scheme was set up to root out the kind rogue landlords that have no place in the industry, but so far it has cost over £400,000 for every landlord who has been refused registration.

“According to this scheme, since 2006, there are only 40 rogue landlords operating in Scotland, however many tenants will have had an altogether more negative experience.

“This farcical programme, introduced with the best of intentions, is failing to deliver at a tremendous cost to the taxpayer.

“And responsible people with aspirations to get into the property business are being hit in the pocket because of this inadequate scheme.

“The private rented sector is playing an increasingly important role in delivering solutions to housing need in Scotland, and we need a robust an efficient mechanism to help achieve that.

“These figures suggest that at the moment, the Private Landlord Registration Scheme is not it.”

Scottish Association of Landlords policy and parliamentary affairs officer, John Blackwood, added:

“We represent responsible landlords from across Scotland, and when the scheme was introduced we broadly supported what it was trying to achieve because we want to see rogue landlords out of the sector altogether.

“But with almost £18m of Government and private funds being spent so far with so little, the scheme is doing little to inspire the confidence either of our members or the tenants who look to us for good accommodation and service.

“We appreciate the scheme is also about changing attitudes in the industry, and to some extent it has done this.

“But I also believe that these figures demonstrate a need to review the scheme in order to make it fit for purpose, and I would call on the Scottish Government to instigate this.”

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:32 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Industry Observer " at "12/03/2014 - 19:55":

You might also like to read what Shelter Scotland themselves said about the Landlord Registration they pushed so hard to get in three years after it was implemented. This was their report in 2009 >>> http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/189734/Landlord_registration_3_years_on.pdf

There are subsequent updates which are even more damning but I haven't been able to locate them quite so easily.
.

Industry Observer

20:36 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

You think I have time to read 17 pages Mark?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:47 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Industry Observer " at "12/03/2014 - 20:36":

You asked the question, others reading this forum may have the same question and may also have more time/desire to find the answer. I am merely showing them where to find it 🙂
.

Sam Wong

20:52 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

Mark
Whilst I usually bow to your superior knowledge, I cannot agree that UK is a capitalist economy. Looks to me more like a socialist benefits hangers-on economy.

It is a reflection of our societal attitude that we are discussing more legislation on top of what is already enough to sink the Titanic. Whilst I do understand that the 650 law makers in our parliament need to justify their existence, it just smacks of collective punishment to protect those too damn lazy and/or stupid to protect themselves against a minority of rogue landlords.
Personally, rather than big government, I think it would be more fruitful to educate both tenants and landlords as to their rights and responsibilities. Most of all, caveat emptor and to take responsibility for their own actions and themselves.
We might then have a chance for a capitalist economy and probably a more equitable society.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:54 PM, 12th March 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "sam " at "12/03/2014 - 20:52":

I think we are agreeing with each other for the most part.

We are in danger of becoming a nanny state but we are still a capitalist economy - but only just 😉
.

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