Shelter in new attack on private landlords who house homeless

I don't know about others on here but I wouldn't touch a homeless person referred by a council, that's the local council's problem not mine, maybe shelter could house them ??

Most tenants are homeless because of rent defaulting.
If Councils ensured sufficient DHP were made then many LL WOULDN'T bother repossessing their properties.

Many LL would take on DSS tenants but for about an extra £200pcm which Councils refuse to pay.


So they end up paying far more in TA than the relatively far smaller amount required by the LL.

Tenants could move to cheaper areas but many refuse to do so as they game the system hoping that TA will eventually lead to a social home.

Essentially they attempt to engineer these circumstances with the LL inevitably suffering immense financial loss.

It is no wonder that many LL refuse to have anything to do with these types.

Also why should a homeless person jump the social housing queue.

Forget housing on need it should be where on the list you are as it used to be.

For once, she is right. As an example, in 2004 the UK population was 60m. Today it is 66m, an increase of 6m in 16 years. In those same 16 years we have built 2.284m new homes, 1.871m of which have been private, and only 412,000 of which you would call social housing. But that's not all. In spite of these new units, the total number of social housing units stands at 4.1m down from its peak at 4.4m as councils themselves demolish old units (so in effect zero net gain), and right to buy eats into the total.

Since 1997 the population has increased by 14% whilst the number of social units has dropped by 7% in the same 23 years.

With the governments current consultation on relaxing the requirement for developers even further, I'm not sure what the plan is, especially when access to the PRS is going to become even more difficult after recent pieces of legislation.

She conveniently forgets to mention that it is the abject failure of local councils to ensure the standard of accommodation is up to scratch, you can't put people in poor flats and then complain about it afterward.

uk popn=90 million--80 million in england

Surely Landlords are simply filling a demand- so this has nothing to do with landlords servicing this sector and everything to do with how councils facilitate this. Who does Polly think should provide this missing accommodation and at what rate? I've said for years- Shelter could offer an indemnity policy underwriting the risk associated with homeless, DSS and low-income tenants delivering a real value & tangible solution and opening up the market. Simple, low-cost solution that would make a real difference and would me a marginal cost for the value it would deliver.

I think her comments are mainly directed toward the government, and another stab at the ongoing debate/ issue around the lack of social housing...

Many are in Temporary Accommodation as a step to getting Housed by council, they all want to be on the Council to get subsidized or free Housing & Benefits, some don't need to be there but the system is made to be abused that's why people cross other European Country's and risk their lives to get here, time to change this unsustainable system.
Shelters mentions about the £1.2b spent in a year on temporary housing for the homeless they forgot to say how much of a hit Private Landlords have taken with Rent arrears or in my case 40 individuals are in arrears rising monthly and I am only one Landlord in no big way..

Even as a private LL I accept that there is a need for millions of social housing.

My issue is it goes to the wrong people.

Social housing should be allocated to hard working low wage earners.

The route to social housing should be via work.

Obviously not those who genuinely can't work.

That means anyone with alleged anxiety and depression doesn't count.
They can be anxious and depressed picking cabbages!!

Govt should buy up open market housing for Social housing.
At least 2 million of them.
The UK needs to end the alleged needs based system of social housing allocation.

British nationals should always receive precedence even if a non-British national is next on the list.
Only when no British nationals are on the list should others be offered social housing.

Hopefully that will NEVER occur so that foreign nationals have to use the PRS.

i see no need for social housing--its a giant scam where peers mps etc get subsidized accommodation and taxpayer funded jobs

only subsidy should be uc and housing should not be for life

Actually I do not agree with this rage against vulnerable people as tenants: I have been in this landlord game since I was 20, but only recently accepted a homeless tenant. He would not give up his dog, and slept in his car to keep it, and i have given him a chance. Three months in, rent is paid, first house inspection showed the house is a clean and beautiful as the day they moved in, and he with, an address he found a job: low paying menial, but a job.

I have been explicit if he screws up, he will go, the rent is yielding 11% and yes my property manager does have to go through everything, it seems, three times more with him, but my profit is there, and I am going to buy another 4- 6 in the area and see how it goes. I am not a social landlord, but I don't need to be an A***ehole either. Provide nice properties, do repairs quickly, treat people as you want to be treated. Evict if you have to.

Shelter is very good at the Statistics just counting numbers, so what are they doing to help ?, can they give the £15m tax payers money they get from Government for free to the Local Authorities specifically to help house the Homeless seen as they don't do it themselves. Why not tax the £60m approx income they get @ 40% tax like the tax we have to pay and give that to LA as well that would Help the Homeless. Then Rishi Sunak could make Rental Income free of tax then we could supply the cheapest Accommodation ever know, every let affordable for the Tenants they love, so step up to the mark, even compete with the Council who don't have to pay tax.

Their main aim is to indulge in sanctimony! They do nothing positive: just complain!

All landlords should refuse homeless people! It’s a problem for the government!

Is it not time for Shelter to get involved in the building and renting of houses for the homeless and put their money where their mouth is rather than complaining and blaming others for their declared problem

Shelter should start lobbying Govt to buy properties for Social housing on the open market.
Then Councils can have all the expense of provisioning such properties and they would also gain any profits out of the social lettings😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
I'm sure local Council Tax payers will be delighted that the feckless are housed in cheap rent properties.
Not that it will bother the tenants as they will all be receiving HB and C Tax support.


Still at least private LL could be shot of all the DSS wasters.

All those on HB should be in social housing.

A mass Govt investment in social housing is required.

Buying on the open market is the quickest way to achieve this.
I have 4 flats ready to sell to the Council at top market prices.

Mind you it would p### off the neighbours finding they are sharing the block with DSS types................nice!!!?

But Govt wants me gone.............more than happy to go at top retail price selling to the Council.