The Generation Rent activist group is urging its supporters to email MPs to protest about delays in the parliamentary progress of the Renters Reform Bill.
And the group makes it easy for its supporters, by creating the letters and tailoring them towards the MPs’ party - Tory or Labour
Generation Rent has for some days now suggested that just a small number of Conservative MPs, who are themselves landlords, are responsible for what the group sees as a delay in the Second Reading of the Bill, which is now expected after the party conference season. This is despite a government pledge, delivered by the Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt, that the Bill would receive the Second Reading as soon as business allowed.
It has therefore created template letters which, depending on your postcode, is worded as appropriate for the MP’s party.
So for Conservatives, the campaign wants this letter to be sent:
“Dear xxx xxx MP,
“I am writing to you, my MP, to ask you to represent tenants’ interests during the passage of the Renters Reform Bill. I hope you take this really important opportunity to improve renting and the lives of renters in our constituency by ending arbitrary Section 21 evictions. These reforms were a part of your 2019 manifesto commitment, and polls show tenancy reform to be one of the government’s most popular policies, so I expect you to stand by them and support this Bill.
“Tenants are facing insecurity in their homes, knowing they can be evicted at any time and without being given a reason, as well as sky high rents and often terrible conditions.
“Please make sure that you attend the second reading debate of the Renters Reform Bill and raise concerns I have that proposals could still leave tenants vulnerable to unfair evictions. It would mean a lot to me and other renters in [constituency name] if you could support the positive parts of this Bill while ensuring that the loopholes are closed.
“I’m also concerned about the lack of protections for tenants against landlords who ignore damp and mould – we need an Awaab’s Law as a part of this Bill to make sure private tenants are safe in their homes.
“Generation Rent has produced a briefing on the Bill, outlining where they think the strengths and weaknesses lie. If you would like to contact them, please email conor@generationrent.org and they will arrange a meeting with you.
“I look forward to your contribution to the Bill – renters in [constituency name] and around the country need you to stand up for them now while it matters the most. We need you to deliver on the promises you made at the last election.”
And if the activist is in the constituency of a Labour MP, the wording is shorter:
“Dear XXX XXX MP,
“I am writing to you, my MP, to ask you to represent tenants’ interests during the passage of the Renters (Reform) Bill. I hope you take this really important opportunity to improve renting and the lives of renters in our constituency by ending arbitrary Section 21 evictions.
“Tenants are facing insecurity in their homes, knowing they can be evicted at any time and without being given a reason, as well as sky high rents and often terrible conditions.
“Please make sure that you attend the second reading debate of the Renters Reform Bill and raise concerns I have that proposals could still leave tenants vulnerable to unfair evictions. It would mean a lot to me and other renters in [constituency name] if you could support the positive parts of this Bill while ensuring that the loopholes are closed.
“There’s not enough in the Bill to deal with high rents – and the tribunal designed to regulate rent rises will still result in tenants being forced out of their homes by unaffordable rent increases. This is wrong and won’t help keep the bills down in our area.
“Generation Rent has produced a briefing on the Bill, outlining where they think the strengths and weaknesses lie. If you would like to contact them, please email conor@generationrent.org and they will arrange a meeting with you.
“I look forward to your contribution to the Bill – renters in [constituency name] and around the country need you to stand up for them now while it matters the most.”
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It is immaterial what Generation Rent says to MPs; neither Generation Rent nor MPs owns the properties. Until those properties are actually nationalised and the correct compensation paid, it is the landlords who will determine what happens to them.
However, the proponents of the totalitarian Renters Reform Bill have already succeeded in reducing supply and therefore leading to rent increases. They have also increased insecurity for tenants as landlords explain that they may be selling soon.
They may also have led to landlords having less interest in their properties as they are preparing to sell them - less improvements, less energy efficiency measures etc. than would otherwise have been carried out.
They have waged a war on landlords and landlords will try to defend themselves.
Those groups have contributed to homelessness why do they want more. There seems to be no reliable data on the homeless although 150’000 in temporary accommodation in London. So they are living in a Building with facilities and a roof over their heads. So for many it’s a stepping stone to get Socially Housed. I know of people allegedly staying in temporary accommodation and the host getting paid when they weren’t living there just pop in occasionally.
One of the Outreach Charities
claim 10’053 are rough sleepers in London while Shelter says it 650 so is there any truthful trustworthy Charity Organisation that you can believe a word they say.
What I do know from a face to face meeting with the Housing Minister in 1992, when he told me there was 75’000 homeless in London at that time but then again they weren’t categorised.
The groups have neither foresight nor the benefit of past experience with assured tenancies.
Some landlords will decide that it is not worth their while continuing under the prevailing conditions and being a political and social football at the mercy of hostile politicians and tenants. Others will adapt by doing everything possible to protect themselves and their business by being ultra-cautious and risk-averse. With rents rising and housing support stagnant, large swathes of the population will be effectively priced out of renting. Increasingly, getting a plane to rent privately will be a matter of being well off enough or knowing the right people.
Good luck to all you tenants out there!
RRB needs to be very specific and state that the tenants who do not pay for 2 months or damage the property, the landlords can give them S21 or whatever and tenants would need to leave, as they do not understand their responsibilities and obligations to pay. Shelter and Generation Rant needs to educate tenants to pay rent and how to live in a property, that they are renting and use it as their home. The charities knows the real problems but wish to turn blind eye in favour of the tenants. This will back-fire very badly for the tenants and charities will not care for them as they clearly biased about their own recognition in the media.
The government should fund councils to buy from landlords at a market price and keep the properties forever for social housing purposes. There will be an increasing needs for social housing. They should see as an investment for the future. Problems are to have numerous staffing to do administration, track of all the requirements like EPC upgrade, gas, electricity, dampness, mould and various other work that are required on an ongoing basis. As we know from Grenfell tower and other properties issues have been highlighted, were all council owned properties. We do not hear of anyone paying the same price as the bad landlords. RRB is totally in favour of tenants and disregarding the landlords who work hard in maintenance of the properties.
This crackpot organisation makes numbers up and puts it out there as gospel, have they never stopped to think that all their drama has caused a lot of the rental tightening across the country.
Speaking with my letting agent who again told me they have another dozen landlords putting properties on the market and most of them have at least three properties, the reason I mention this is they wanted to know if I was interested in purchasing them....! Until I get clarity I am sitting tight and doing nothing. Rents going up as supply is going down.
The establishment have no clue that a lot of us are running 🏃♂️ for the exit 😂 clueless 🤷♂️
@Simon Logan - I wish you were right Simon but I think the really alarming truth of the matter is that they do know and they are intentionally driving us out whilst trying to retain plausible deniability
The game's fooked! And for that reason..... I'm out!....... Just at soon as the Scottish government allow me to!
Generation Rent will soon need to change its name to Generation Can't Rent as the vast majority of the current generation of renters will not be regarded as desirable tenants for the few remaining rental properties.
As soon as the SNP started its war on decent PRS tenants and landlords in December 2017, I decided only to rent to groups of students with several solvent property owning guarantors and as soon as I could, I stopped renting to decent families, pointing out to them who was really responsible for my change of policy and advising them to make sure that they had as much long term security as possible moving forward but there would always be a high risk of future landlords pulling out of the market as further SNP measures continued to harm their situation.
Every government interference in markets ends up being counter productive.
Look at bank overdraft rates, capped energy prices, attempts to control renewal costs for insurance premiums - and the SNP rent controls.
All of the above has only made things worse, especially for consumers with the initiative and incentive to take control of their own lives and finances.
Their story will look like this :
Generation Rent - evolving into ...
Generation Rant - evolving into ...
Generation Can't Rent - evolving into ...
Generation Tent
John Chart observes:
Shame that everybody is "getting out"
There will be nobody left to write these entertaining comments .
Landlord Today will have to fold. Sob!
It could survive if it changed to Landlord Yesterday!
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