Tenants with long-term arrears ‘claiming to have Covid to avoid eviction’

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Leading eviction solicitors are concerned that tenants with long-term rent arrears built up before the Covid pandemic hit are claiming to have Covid in order to delay being evicted.

Landlord Action says it is getting direct experience of what is happening on the ground with possession claims across the whole country after the stay on possession hearings was lifted late last month.

“The positive for landlords is that the courts are open and progressing cases,” says Tim Frome, the firm’s Legal Director.

“We had a Section 21 possession order through from Bromley County Court last week for a claim that was issued in June, and we also have a number of review hearings taking place this week.”

But Frome (pictured, below) says there is increasing evidence that tenants with significant rent arrears are ‘playing the system’ to delay landlords taking back their properties despite possession orders have been secured.

“We had a case this week where a tenant had not paid their rent since at least January but, when bailiffs arrived to evict them, the tenant phoned the court to say they had developed a cough and lost their sense of smell,” he says.

The magistrate then suspended the warrant and scheduled a new hearing in two weeks’ time, despite no medical evidence to back up the claim.

“The tenant’s claim may have been true, but there is a worry that tenants are beginning to abuse the court process and allege they have Covid, knowing that this means bailiffs will not enforce,” says Frome.

But Landlord Action says it has successfully completed evictions despite these challenges, including a case in central London where it applied for a High Court enforcement officer rather than a County Court bailiff to execute the eviction following a possession order, and had it granted.

“This is good news for landlords as it means evictions can be completed much quicker,” says Frome.

Follow live reports on evictions around the UK via the Twitter hashtag #CourtWatch.

Visit Landlord Action.

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COVID: Why are landlords ‘evil’ when they evict, but no one vilifies employers when they make staff redundant?

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It’s an opinion many working in housing won’t like. But evicting tenants is part and parcel of the business of being a landlord.

It is, for want of a better word, a tool of the trade. Admittedly, emotionally, not a very nice one. But, when I decide to evict a tenant, it is wholly a business choice.

It could be because the tenant has not paid the rent, the property needs to be sold, or maybe that the property no longer makes financial sense. In all scenarios, the context is economic: Evictions are an economic choice.

This line of thinking seems to have escaped many politicians and housing charities who accuse landlords of having some sort of personal agenda.

‘Revenge evictions’ made the headlines for a bit, and then the government brought in more legislation outlawing that sort of behaviour.

The language was emotive, socially shaming, and likely due to a small number of rogue landlords who mucked it up for the vast majority following the not inconsiderable rule book.

The main problem which many people can’t get their head around is: evictions are normal. And maybe it’s unpleasant to realise they are a cost of doing business, but ignoring the reality doesn’t make this situation go away. Legislating to pretend things are otherwise is dangerous and damaging to the entire housing sector.

Economic sense

Redundancies, restructuring and letting staff go are a necessary part of running a business. And it’s sad when people lose their jobs, but it’s a fact of business. No matter what the government do, they cannot protect every job – because some jobs do not make economic sense.

“And so it is with housing. Not all properties make financial sense. Not all landlords can run a business and make it economically viable. Not all tenants will pay their rent as they are meant to. And it is unfortunate when people lose their homes through no fault of their own, but people also lose their jobs through no fault of their own.”

Miserable

These situations are miserable, but when an employer cannot make the maths stack to keep people on, the decision must be made to let go. And so it is with landlords, when the sums don’t add up – evictions must be issued. Laying people off is normal, evicting tenants is normal.

The government have introduced artificial delays to the system. The eviction ban, like much of the furlough scheme, has only kicked the can further down the road.

You cannot stop the inevitable.

People will lose jobs; people will lose homes. It’s sad and unfortunate, but unless we understand how buy-to-let works, there won’t just be tenants on the streets, but also landlords.

Any future SLS, if it is to be successful, needs to be transparent, accountable and clear about KPIs, willing to publicly share information and engage with private sector landlords.

The Secret Landlord

The Secret Landlord has been renting, refurbishing and selling properties across the UK for almost two decades. Her book, ‘Parasite? The Secret Diary of a Landlord’ is out today.

READ: Landlord compliance checklist.

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Welsh temporary lockdown – Is moving home permitted?

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Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford, announced A short, sharp “firebreak” will be introduced across Wales at the end of this week to help regain control of coronavirus.

The fire-break will start at 6pm on Friday 23 October and end on Monday 9 November.

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Room rents in London remain depressed

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Although Covid-19 restrictions began to ease in Q3, the rental market in the capital still struggled to recover, with the average London room rent down 7%, from £780 in Q3 2019 to £725 in Q3 2020.

Rents in EC3/Aldgate (-34%) *

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Size matters for the UK average house price of £231k

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How much space can the UK’s average house price of £231k buy you across the country?

Home buyers in the West Midlands can afford almost double the floorspace than those in the South East, according to new research1.

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John Lewis launches ambitious plan to become large-scale residential landlord

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John Lewis aims to become a large-scale residential landlord by building homes next to 20 of its shops.

The struggling retailer, which has been hit hard during the pandemic, has identified the sites where it can build quality and sustainable housing while providing a stable income.

It aims to furnish the properties with John Lewis Home products and hopes tenants will become Waitrose shoppers.

Already a landlord at three of its supermarket sites, John Lewis says it’s an obvious extension for the brand and is now talking to developers and investors who could help it achieve its ambitions to enter the build-to-rent market.

It will make planning applications for two sites in the new year in Greater London, with a plan to build the rental homes above or beside Waitrose stores.

John Lewis is backing the homebuilding project, along with other potential new business ideas such as selling home insurance and opening garden centres, with £400m of investment.

The action plan comes as the group heads for its first full-year loss after three years of falling profits; last month, the company announced plans to shut eight John Lewis stores and four Waitrose stores with the loss of more than 1,400 jobs.

Chairman Sharon White (pictured, left) says: “Our plan means the John Lewis Partnership will thrive for the next century, as it has the last.

“We’ll share our success with our customers, partners – who own the business – and our communities.”

In the summer the retailer announced a new furniture rental service to provide young renters with affordable John Lewis sofas, chairs and tables.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – John Lewis launches ambitious plan to become large-scale residential landlord | LandlordZONE.

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COVID Stories: Landlords fend off ‘undue pressure’ from licensing scheme to complete minor repairs

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A licensing scheme operator is pressurising an elderly landlord couple to carry out minor repair work to their rented house despite them having problems booking workmen due to the coronavirus crisis, they have told LandlordZONE.

Joy and Frederick Bibb signed up to the Home Safe Scheme in Great Yarmouth, which is associated with the local council, paying a monthly fee to get support to meet regulations.

But they say its recent inspection report has resulted in unnecessary pressure being put on them to do work needed almost immediately.

Says Joy: “They sent us a report of repairs to do, which I agreed with, as I know it’s part of the job and we take pride in our houses and keeping tenants happy.

“But although we’re told they’re minor, not emergency repairs, they keep demanding we do the repairs or tell us we’ll be fined.”  

Suspected Covid

She says the builder who was going to carry out the work – including mending a floorboard and adding an extra handrail on the staircase – has refused to enter the house due to a suspected case of Covid-19.

She adds: “Their instructions are very vague, and you need to be a solicitor to understand them. I’ve also had problems contacting them and they only send the same generic email back with the same instructions.”

A spokesman for the Home Safe Scheme, which also operates similar schemes in Doncaster and Lincolnshire, tells LandlordZONE: “Any advice and support we give is reasonable and proportionate to the seriousness of the issues found so we do not put members ‘under unnecessary pressure to carry them out immediately’ if that is neither reasonable or proportionate.

“In terms of taking into account not being able to get workmen to come to the house, we have amended our follow-up action requirements to take account of the coronavirus but…all the Government guidance around this issue points to repairs still being able to be undertaken as long as the appropriate measures are followed.”

Read more about the Bibbs.

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Beyond Section 21 Report – The unintended consequences if government doesn’t listen

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Following the Government’s announcement and subsequent consultation into repealing Section 21, which received in excess of 20,000 responses, The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC) commissioned a report ‘Beyond Section 21’ to look at the impacts of doing so. 

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Labour activists call for ‘bias’ of its own landlord MPs to be revealed

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Labour activists want candidates in the party’s upcoming National Executive Committee elections to own up to being a landlord.

Its newly-formed campaign group, Labour Tenants United, promises to publicise their answers as it reckons party members whose interests are opposed to landlords deserve to have as much information as possible before they cast their votes.

It says the Labour Party is focussing too much on landlords because, it reckons, approximately one in every five Labour MPs declares earnings through rent.

Labour Tenants United believes the Labour party hasn’t properly backed tenants throughout the coronavirus crisis and has moved away from pushing for rent controls and repealing right to buy.

“It is hard to discount that the continued and disproportionate presence of landlords in positions of power within Labour might be one factor that explains why the party has been falling short,” it adds.

Landlords vs tenants

“Labour’s backtracking on these issues is a sign that the decision-makers in the party do not understand the fundamentally opposed interests of landlords and tenants.”

The group explains that while it’s not calling for a ban on landlords in the Labour Party, tenants ought to know who they are voting for in internal Labour elections next month.

“We believe that the conflicting interests between landlords and tenants make it necessary that tenants know which candidates own and rent properties.”

It adds: “The party cannot return to appealing to the better nature of landlords. Attempting to solve structural problems through a collaborative approach is doomed to fail.

“There have been decades of promises to get private landlords to provide affordable housing instead of the Government. It is antithetical to the interests of landlords to provide affordable housing when the nature of the housing market means they stand to profit more if they charge more.”

Read more about Labour

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Extension wall built too close?

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Hi, I own a 4 bed detached on a street built in the 60’s. On facing the houses each has a path of about 6ft between them BUT the path is owned by the house to the right up to the walls of the house to the left..

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