Northern Ireland government to help ALL university students pay their rent

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Northern Ireland’s economy minister Diane Dodds (pictured, above) has vowed to boost student hardship funds and push universities to support tenants during the pandemic including students renting properties off private landlords.

While she insists that student accommodation is a matter between the individual student and their private, university or corporate landlord, Dodds says she recognises students are in a very difficult position as a result of the COVID restrictions.

The minister was being grilled by MPs at the Northern Ireland Assembly, where MP Mark Durkan asked if she would meet the accommodation costs of university and college students renting property they couldn’t use while courses moved online.

Dodds replied that she was looking at ways to provide more support, including asking the Student Loans Company to investigate whether it can deliver payments to all Northern Ireland students.

Financial hardship

“My department, through the universities, continues to provide support to any students who face genuine financial hardship for whatever reason, including difficulties with their accommodation contracts,” said Dodds.

“In recognition of those difficulties and the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic…I will be seeking additional funding to increase the total amount that is available for student hardship in the current financial year.

“I have also instructed the universities to publicise and promote the availability of those additional funds to ensure that they reach eligible students as quickly as possible and to consider whether any requirements set by them for students to access funds can be relaxed or removed.”

The National Union of Students in Northern Ireland says students shouldn’t have to pay for accommodation they’re unable to access and claims they’re being treated unfairly by private landlords.

Queen’s University has extended a rent holiday for students living in their halls of residence until the beginning of March, while Ulster University is reviewing requests to leave student accommodation early on an individual basis.

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Readers’ Letter: Can I get around the six-month notice eviction rule?

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A LandlordZONE reader called Rebecca has been in touch to ask whether landlords like her can get around the Covid-related six-month minimum notice period required before possession hearings can be started to evict a tenant who has stopped paying their rent.

We asked evictions specialist Paul Shamplina to answer her two specific questions.

Question: Would landlords be within their rights to only accept tenants who are willing and able to pay six months’ rent up front?

Paul says: “Yes, you could ask a tenant to pay the rent up front but tenants apart from maybe international students are unlikely to be willing to do that, and most couldn’t afford to even if they were willing to.

“And while you wait until you find a tenant who will, you’re going to have your property sitting empty, which isn’t ideal.

“You’d be better off asking for your tenants to provide a guarantor, which many landlords suggest when a prospective tenant has a poor credit rating or references. Or landlords can take out rent guarantee insurance.

“You’ve got to be realistic and commercially-minded as a landlord; there are lots of decent tenants out there who prefer to pay monthly.”

Question: Could we serve six months’ notice at the same time as issuing a tenancy to ensure that, should it be necessary due to non-payment of rent, we are ahead of the game in terms of beginning the eviction process?

Paul says: No, not really. Under the current rules that came in during August last year, landlords can only serve a six-month notice period which is called a Form 6a after four months of a AST tenancy agreement so effectively the minimum term is now ten months.

“When I gave advice to the government on this, I made the point that giving notice to someone on the day they move in was poor practice – and judges will take a dim view of it plus it doesn’t put your relationship with a tenant on a good footing.”

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Can I resolve noisy neighbour issue for my tenant?

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I have a Maisonette that has been let to the same tenant for three years, and she is the absolute perfect tenant. It is a two-level building in an affluent area and there have been a couple living above (not my Flat) for the last two years without any issue.

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Government: ‘No direct financial support for landlords during Covid’

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The government has once again refused to consider a financial support scheme for landlords who are suffering financial hardship due to the Covid pandemic.

Lord Greenhalgh made the comments yesterday in parliament, saying the package of indirect help for landlords was sufficient, kicking in the long grass hopes of financial support similar to those offered in Wales and Scotland.

But as we have highlighted in recent weeks and months, some landlords face grave financial problems as they struggle to evict tenants who are using the Covid pandemic as an excuse not to pay their rent, with landlords often ignored by the DWP and their plights deprioritised by the police, social services and courts.

Lord Taylor of Warwick asked Lord Greenhalgh, who is the government’s housing spokesperson in the House of Lords ‘what plans they have to introduce specific financial support for landlords who have lost rent as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic?’.

Furlough enough

The answer came that the government is supporting landlords by helping tenants keep their jobs via the ongoing furlough scheme, and that only 7% of tenants had rent arrears.

This claim is based on research within the English Housing Survey’s Household Resilience Study which, he omitted to mention, is nearly six months old or that rent arrears are rising – up from 3% before the pandemic to 7% by the end of July last year.

“This indicates our package of support is working and has prevented widespread arrears,” said Greenhalgh.

“Where landlords find themselves in coronavirus-related hardship, mortgage lenders have agreed to offer payment holidays of up to six months, including for buy-to-let mortgages.

“The application window is open until 31 March 2021.The FCA has been clear that for borrowers who have taken six months’ holiday and continue to face ongoing financial difficulties, firms should continue to provide support through tailored forbearance options.”

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