BBC joins in the ‘endless grind’ of media landlord bashing over evictions

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The BBC has joined the ranks of landlord-bashing media by publishing a story that gives a distinctly one-sided view of an eviction, helping bolster Shelter and other organisations’ campaigns to ban Section 21 notices.

It quotes a tenant as saying she was in “panic mode” when given notice to quit via a Sectoin 21 and makes no mention that, under restored pre-Covid rules, tenants given notice via this route get two months’ notice, and are usually asked to move out informally beforehand.

Instead, the online article describes how Rachel, her partner and her adult daughter had lived in their rented home in east London since August 2019 but had struggled to pay rent during the pandemic.

It quotes her as saying: “I got an email to say she [the landlord] was serving us notice…I was quite upset, quite emotional, it was panic mode.”

Interestingly, the BBC story points to the latest quarterly evictions data from the Home Office highlighting how evictions are down compared to the same period in 2019.

Fewer notices

LandlordZONE has previously reported how fewer landlords are using Section 21 notices to evict tenants; according to recent government data, their use dropped by 55% over the past two years and by 50% between 2015 and 2019.

Despite this, the BBC quotes research from Shelter and only includes a short comment from the National Residential Landlords Association.

An NRLA spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “The NRLA is unable to comment on the specifics of the case reported by the BBC. However, whatever means a landlord uses to repossess a property it is vital that they follow due process. Where tenants feel this has not happened, they should raise their concerns with their local authority.”

LandlordZONE has approached the BBC for comment.

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‘Don’t bother complaining about benefits errors’ leading UC expert warns landlords

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Landlords have been advised not to raise a benefits complaint with the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) or Ombudsman – or risk it disappearing into a black hole.

UC Advice & Advocacy Ltd’s Bill Irvine (pictured) says landlords are continually frustrated by having to make numerous applications for an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) for Universal Credit without getting a response.

However, if they complain to ICE or the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), they’re now just being told to go back to the DWP.

Shambles

“The process is a shambles,” Irvine tells LandlordZONE. “ICE used to write to the DWP and say there’s been a complaint and sometimes the DWP would respond – now they’re refusing to do that.”

He adds that it can take two or three years to get an outcome from ICE, and even in those cases where the DWP has been found wanting, landlords still don’t get recompense.

Irvine advises: “You’re wasting your time if you’re looking for compensation. It’s better to escalate things through the DWP at a local level by continually following up an application and try to avoid using the word ‘complaint’, and call it a ‘query’ instead.”

PHSO replies

A PHSO spokesman tells LandlordZONE that the pandemic has affected its productivity and that it has a queue of more than 2,500 complaints.

He says: “We advise anyone who has a complaint regarding a service provided by Department for Work and Pensions to try and resolve the matter through DWP’s own complaints process first.”

Mick Roberts, who operates one of the largest private property portfolios in Nottingham, has had numerous run-ins with the DWP, and has a number of outstanding cases with ICE concerning incorrect payments.

He says benefits landlords like him have had enough, adding: “I’ve tried to be loyal but I’m not going through this process anymore, it’s too much hassle – I’m just going to evict tenants. Tenants don’t complain, but they are the ones losing out as all this means they can’t move because other landlords won’t take them.”

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Pandemic Right to Rent check changes extended to 30th September 2022

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The adjustments to Right to Rent checks, which were made due to COVID-19, will now be extended from 5th April and continue to 30 September 2022.

This follows the government’s announcement enabling landlords to use Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT) to carry out digital checks on behalf of British and Irish citizens who hold a valid passport (or Irish passport card) from 6 April 2022.

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EPC Commercial Confusion?

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I am in the process of renewing a lease with a commercial tenant for the next 6 years., The EPC conducted in Feb 2017 is an F (carried out by the previous owner just before we bought the property –

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Spike in Welsh landlords quitting as rent reforms begin to bite, say agents

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Many experts claim most landlords shrug off attempts to make renting riskier or more bureaucratic if it’s still a moneymaking exercise, but the Welsh government’s recent efforts to complicate its PRS seem to be digging deeper.

Latest figures from trade body Propertymark show that its Welsh letting agency members report five landlords per branch withdrawing from the market, more than twice the national average and far higher than any other region.

The trade body says the most likely cause of this is the Welsh government’s plans to extend notice periods, along with other restrictive measures, within its Renting Homes (Wales) Act due to be implemented later this year.

This includes an already-in-place six-month notice requirement for a landlord to end a contract where the tenant is not at fault and a minimum ‘security of tenure’ of one year from the date of moving in.

Surveys

Also, this is the first time that Propertymark has begun to report the number of landlords leaving the sector. Its surveys in recent years have made little or no mention of this, so it is significant that it is now a key metric in the latest one.

The trend is already having repercussions for tenants. Letting agents report that while landlords are exiting the market, tenant demand for properties remains high and in Wales, they saw 313 applicants per branch, a trend mirrored across the UK.

“With several changes on the horizon from the implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, landlords will be faced with further regulatory pressure,” says Propertymark boss Nathan Emerson (pictured).

“Coupled with the extremely high demand within the sales market in areas across Wales, these could well be contributing to the number of landlords exiting the sector.

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