BREAKING: Mayor of London calls for extreme measures to protect renters during and after crisis

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Sadiq Khan has today said that the government should introduce a ‘triple lock’ of measure that would make it almost impossible for landlords to evict many tenants after the Coronavirus has eased.

The Mayor of London Sadiq
Khan has called for the government to go even further to protect tenants and wants
to see a ‘triple lock’ of measures that would make it almost impossible for
landlords to evict tenants after the Coronavirus pandemic has passed.

Khan says he wants to see the
government:

• Increase benefit support for renters through higher Local Housing Allowance rates and a suspended Benefit Cap.
• Permanently ban private landlords from evicting tenants who have run up rent arrears because of the Coronavirus pandemic and making Section 8 arrears’ grounds discretionary in court proceedings.
• Bring forward ban of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

“For too long, renters in
the capital and across the country have been denied the security they need in
the place they call home. The current crisis has brought these issues into
stark relief,” says Khan.

“With millions of low
paid renters in London now facing increased financial uncertainty we face a
ticking timebomb of debt, arrears and widespread evictions once the suspension
in court proceedings is lifted.

The Mayor’s call for action is being backed by legal charity Safer Renting, who spokesperson Ben Reeve-Lewis, says:“From what we are seeing on the ground, Government guidance for landlords and tenants to work together reasonably during this crisis isn’t getting through to the rogue landlord market.

“We are seeing no let-up
in cases of harassment and illegal eviction. It’s just business as usual.”

Khan was due to face re-election on May 7^th but has now been given an extra year in office as Mayor of London after the election was postponed until May 2021.

Read more about the Mayoral election.

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Landlords welcome calls for benefit boost for tenants

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Landlords have supported calls from the Mayor of London to ensure the benefits system covers the cost of private rents for those tenants adversely affected by coronavirus. Sadiq Khan is calling on the government to introduce a new ‘triple lock’ of measures aimed at protecting private renters. He has urged the government to increase welfare […]

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Today in politics: ONS data, triple protection call, Right to Rent and more

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We look at the new ONS futures, Sadiq Khan’s call for triple protection for tenants as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, questions to government ministers, Right to Rent and building regulations. PRS rents up 1.4% PRS rents in the UK have gone up 1.4% in the 12 months to March 2020 according to new […]

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Right to Rent challenge lost in Court of Appeal

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In 2018 the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and the RLA obtained a Judicial Review of the government’s Right to Rent scheme based on the argument that it increased discrimination against ethnic minorities and foreigners by making Landlords responsible for checking the right of a tenant to reside in the UK for at least the term of the tenancy.

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Revealed: 5,700 evictions sitting in limbo following ban, EXCLUSIVE analysis estimates

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True extent of problems caused by government’s sudden evictions ban are uncovered by the analysis, which reveals how thousands of landlords must now wait for months until proceedings can restart or conclude.

Research on behalf of LandlordZONE has revealed that there are over 5,000 evictions which have become stuck in the legal system following the government’s evictions ban announced on 18^th March.

We have spoken to several of these private landlords, many of whom launched evictions proceedings against tenants for non-payment of rent well before the ban.

These landlords are now stuck with tenants who have often not paid rent for months and who are now able to live rent free in their properties until at least early June.

And as LandlordZONE has pointed out before, the huge backlog within the court system that has built up since the evictions ban means these landlords may have to wait until July or August before court hearing dates become available.

£22,000 arrears

We have been made aware of one case of a landlord owed £22,000 in arrears from her tenant who had not paid rent for the best part of eighteen months and had the eviction date set with the bailiff that week.

But the court cancelled the eviction and she will now have to wait for up to six months to complete the eviction, adding more lost rent to her debt, which she says could push her into financial collapse.

Tim Frome, Legal Director of Landlord Action, estimates that there are 25,000 cases now stuck in the system of which 15,370 are social landlords, 4,345 are ‘accelerated cases’ via a Section 21 notice not requiring a court hearing (but needing a judge to look at the paperwork). This leaves 5,723 private landlord cases via Section 8 notices left in limbo.

These estimates are based on analysis of the previous three months’ government possession statistics.

20,000 cases

“We must be talking over 20,000 cases that may require some form of hearing that have currently been stayed,” says Frome.

“There will also be new cases that have been issued over the last month, and the practice direction relating to the stay on current possession cases was updated yesterday to say new cases should still be issued.

“At Landlord Action we have over 600 cases that are in the different possession stages including serving a notice.

“Over 500 are live possession claims with the courts that are currently stayed. We have done all we can to prepare for when the hearings are rescheduled from beginning of July as it is clearly going to be a busy time for us.

“The Courts will be
under huge pressure as the block listed hearings generally only last 5 minutes.
As there are likely to be further rent arrears by the time of the hearing and
potentially other issues that have occurred during the extended period we are
likely to see a number of these cases adjourned for longer hearings in the
future.

“This will put
more pressure on the court system over the next six to nine months.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Revealed: 5,700 evictions sitting in limbo following ban, EXCLUSIVE analysis estimates | LandlordZONE.

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Right to Rent: Government wins appeal

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The government has won its appeal against a ruling that its Right to Rent scheme breaches human rights laws, it was revealed today. Under Right to Rent, private landlords face potential imprisonment of up to five years if they know or have “reasonable cause to believe” that the property they are letting is occupied by someone […]

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BREAKING: Campaigners lose latest legal battle to have Right to Rent scrapped

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Four years after it was first introduced, legal campaigners have lost their latest court appeal over the scheme, which they claim is responsible for prompting discrimination against ethnic minorities by landlords.

A campaigning group has lost its latest legal battle to have the government’s controversial Right to Rent scheme scrapped on the grounds that it prompts landlords to discriminate against ethnic minorities.

In a judgement published earlier today at The Royal Court of Appeal, Lord Justices Davis, Henderson and Hickinbottom agreed that the scheme was discriminatory, but stopped short of finding that it violates human rights law.

They instead left it to MPs and the government to decide whether the racial discrimination is ‘greater than envisaged’, pointing out that only a small minority of landlords were being discriminatory.

This legal process has been ongoing for nearly two years after the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) secured permission for a Judicial Review of the scheme, which was launched by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary.

Supreme Court

After several more court actions, this latest decision means in practice that the JCWI must now take its case to the Supreme Court, most likely its last chance to have Right to Rent amended or scrapped.

The scheme was introduced fully in October 2015 following a six-month trial in the Midlands, and requires landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants.

Any landlord found to have rented to someone who doesn’t have the required immigration status faces a fine of up to £3,000 or a criminal sentence.

Commenting on the
decision, Chai Patel, Legal Policy Director of the JCWI, says: “At a time when
our lives depend on our ability to stay home at home safely, ethnic minorities
and foreign nationals are being forced by the government to face discrimination
in finding a safety place for them and their families to live.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Campaigners lose latest legal battle to have Right to Rent scrapped | LandlordZONE.

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Covid-19 text message scams crackdown funded by Banking Industry

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A specialist police unit funded by the banking industry has executed several warrants across the country in a crackdown on criminals sending scam text messages and emails exploiting the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) is made up of officers from the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police and is responsible for targeting the criminal gangs responsible for fraud.

The post Covid-19 text message scams crackdown funded by Banking Industry appeared first on Property118.

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MPs to grill ministers and officials on Coronavirus evictions policy

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Parliamentary committee is to looks at the evictions ban and also wants to hear from landlords before its starts quizzing the government. Have your say.

MPs
are to investigate fears that tenants are building up rent arrears and facing
eviction when the three-month ban expires.

Parliament’s
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has launched an inquiry to
find out how effective its support for private renters has been during the
crisis as well as what long-term strategies will need to be put in place to
support them once current measures expire.

MPs on the committee are to grill ministers and officials on their response to Covid-19 including a number of schemes intended to support people in the private rented sector.

This has included halting evictions for three months and raising the Local Housing Allowance rate.

However, there are concerns
about the short and long-term impact of these strategies, including the quality
of accommodation and access to amenities and the exit strategy when social
distancing measures are reduced.

The committee has launched the inquiry by calling for evidence, which landlords can submit their responses to.

Chair
Clive Betts, MP says: “It is vital that those in precarious living situations
are supported by the Government. People cannot be forced to leave their homes
at a time when finding a new place to live simply isn’t possible.

“However,
we must also look at what will happen a month from now and beyond. What happens
in three months’ time when the eviction ban lapses for people who have no job
and now owe three months’ rent?”

The committee particularly wants to focus on what problems remain an immediate concern as well as the post-lockdown impacts for renters and what action is needed to help them.

Have your say here.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – MPs to grill ministers and officials on Coronavirus evictions policy | LandlordZONE.

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Blog: Coronavirus: Welsh landlords ask for ‘level playing field’

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Grants of up to £10,000 have been offered to businesses running holiday lets, while the PRS is ignored. Wales policy officer Tim Thomas shares the latest on NRLA calls for a level playing field. ‘Now is a precarious time to be a landlord. Businesses across Britain have been hit hard by coronavirus – and landlords […]

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