Tenancy expires during Covid-19 lockdown

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 16/04/2020 – 09:39
Brilliant Luke, your words below sum up what it’s like in our lives now:

Welcome to the world of landlording…leave all ideas of fairness and justice that apply to almost every other area of life at the door and learn a whole separate set of (infuriating) rules.

Has your tenant been a “sacked” or “furloughed”? If he has been sacked he is presumably entitled to Universal Credit which includes an element for housing, that is rent. If he has been “furloughed” he should be receiving 80% of his wages from the government so could pay up to 80% of his rent. You may need to help him through whichever process applies. Don’t accept a response that he has never taken any hand out from the state and does not intend to start now. In theory admirable but explain that it is you who would be paying for his pride.

As stated by others, his commitment to pay the rent continues as per the terms of the tenancy. If I was you, I will find out what work he did, can his employer furlough him or can he apply for Universal Credit (UC). Provide him with assistance so that he claims any money he is entitled to. Once he goes past 2 full months of rent arrears in total (if it gets to that), complete the UC47 form and ask for direct payments. In my opinion, it’s unacceptable for tenants to say they have lost their job and not apply for Government assistance or go back to their employer and ask they are furloughed. If after this, and assessing their income they can not reasonably afford the rent in full, one would agree to defer part of the payment until they are back into employment or agree a reduction. That choice is based on individual cases and circumstances and there is no rule that ‘fits all’. Hope that helps.

if he has lost his job then surely eventually he will be eligible for housing benefit.