Another council is advertising a package of incentives for private landlords to help solve its housing shortage.
Exeter council is aiming to provide “the practical skills and confidence” for those who have been sleeping rough to instead become private rental sector tenants.
A team called Homeless Access Together will support the formerly homeless people and help deal with issues once they have moved into private accommodation.
A statement from Exeter council says: “Housing Access Together has a vision to create sustainable tenancies that work for landlords and tenants.
“It can provide a generous incentive package offers and offers a competitive range of financial and other benefits, including up-front cash incentives to landlords.
“Tenants are matched to your property following a comprehensive suitability and affordability assessment. It also provides ongoing support for landlords and tenants.”
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Been there, done that with Bristol City Council.
Worst thing I ever did.
BCC don’t want to know once the problems start and they inevitably will.
BCC are constantly after my properties cause they don’t have any.
Once bitten twice shy I think is the saying.
Because people need homes or didn't offer enough cash.
🤔Errrmm No ! Like not a chance this side of the end of the world 🌍..
Not not nice was it.
I've done it with Lewisham council. You receive £4,500 up front, plus market rent and the option of a working tenant on UC, or a full time tenant on UC.
I opted for the working tenant on UC. She came in January 2020 and I evicted her in June 29th, 2023. Currently, the LHA rent is now £400 below the market value in Lewisham Borough.
My advise to anyone and everyone is to stay clear. Evicting them will be challenging, when you have an issue pertaining to the tenant, such as mould and you want to prove to the council, that the mould in the property is caused by the tenants lack of ventilation, the council won't be interested!
If you have a problem with the rent payment, all it takes is for the tenant to tell UC, that they don't live at your address no more, and then UC will ignore your pleas, under data protection, even if you have proof that the tenant still resides at the address.
It's a sweet and sour scenario at first.
Let the council build temporary container homes for their own tenants, and stay well clear!!
Yes excuse tenants for being homeless.
I'm sick of landlords playing the victims.. It's just greed and rentals we're being rent increased before this crisis and you lot haven't changed..One day they'll be so many unaffordable places they'll be empty and then what?
You know nothing.
And tenants don't play the victims, yourself being a prime example Sandra
Good Morning Sandy B,
We have given you plenty of examples of tenants not playing nice and still you go on like a broken record. Now my cheeky little activist please canvas the opinion of a few landlords and get both sides. You may find that people will listen to you then.
Now come on over a get a cuddle, you are carrying this anger for too long..!
Landlords are sick of tenants playing the victim, and the government and councils setting everything up in tenants' favour regardless if it's their fault. Places won't be empty due to being unaffordable - landlords set the rents at market rates and reduce when necessary.
Hi Sandra, this is not a clear cut situation. Yes there are some greedy Landlord's but they are very much the minority and yes there are tenants that are shockingly bad, but again the minority. We are living in a media driven world with a useless Tory Government that are clueless.
The truth is the majority of Landlord's and tenants get on fine. The cost of living crisis and the useless actions by Bank of England have caused massive problems on top of decisions by the Politicians.
The problem is that I do not see this improving anytime soon, therefore Landlord's are leaving, myself included and to be honest I will be the poorer for it and tenants will have one less home to rent each time I sell a property.
Sandra,
Tell us little bit about you:
1. Do you live in a council house?
2. Do you get any benefits from UC?
3. Have you ever owned a property?
4. Have you ever worked and saved for a property?
5. Have you ever run any business?
6. Do you know the purpose of running any business?
7. Have you seen the mismanagement of our money by every single council?
8. Do you know what taking responsibility is?
9. Why are councils not building council homes?
10. Brent council brought in article 4 direction, which meant one needed planning permission for HMOs. Landlords sold their HMOs and now the council has spent 13 million more to house people in hotels instead of HMOs.
11. Don’t advocate for something you don’t understand. Private landlords exist because there aren’t enough council houses. So ask your council to build more houses.
I'll answer for Sandra:
1. Do you live in a council house? YES
2. Do you get any benefits from UC? YES
3. Have you ever owned a property? NO
4. Have you ever worked and saved for a property? NO
5. Have you ever run any business? NO
6. Do you know the purpose of running any business? TO PAY TAXES AND PAY FOR ME
7. Have you seen the mismanagement of our money by every single council? NO
8. Do you know what taking responsibility is? YES PASSING IT ON TO ANYONE BUT ME
9. Why are councils not building council homes? BECAUSE OF THE GREEDY TORIES, LANDOWNERS AND BUSINESSES STOPPING IT
10. Brent council brought in article 4 direction, which meant one needed planning permission for HMOs. Landlords sold their HMOs and now the council has spent 13 million more to house people in hotels instead of HMOs. SO WHAT?
11. Don’t advocate for something you don’t understand. Private landlords exist because there aren’t enough council houses. So ask your council to build more houses. I WILL. I WILL ASK THEM TO MAGIC THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS REQUIRED OUT OF THIN AIR, ALONG WITH THE LABOUR AND MATERIALS.
Yes I agree tenants seem to be having a bashing on here
I've rented this time for 13 years the same property twice over the years
11 years before my landlord would not of asked me bk if I were a bad tenant.
Annette, there are many ex tenants that I would welcome back
Andrew, me too. There are also a couple I'd sell at half price rather than have as tenants.
Private rental accommodation is not social housing. Think of it as an optional extra, a housing choice. You pay for the privilege or you don't rent in the PRS. Like staying in a hotel, you wouldn't expect to pay the same rate at a hotel as a residential home.
well dont worry about being sick of landlords - there wont be any soon!
Please buy yourself a house or move to a hotel- if you think it’s cheaper.
In fact you could buy few extra houses and donate them to homeless people.
Honestly you are pathetic and ungrateful creature.
I’m glad I am not renting MY home to someone like you.
You don't understand the rental market. The gov has increased tax, interest rate and licence fees. Who do you think the increases are going to be passed onto. Everyone is blaming landlords when it's gov policies and council stupidity
You don't have a clue. Maybe you should buy a property and rent it out Maybe you.eoukd understand there us jot a lot of profit made.
Clueless how many landlords do you know. Perhaps the council should just buy the properties a lot if landlords selling up as they are fed up if tenants and people either your attitude who really don't have a clue
Sandra, last time I advertised a 3 bedroom house I had 47 applications in 72 hours. At that point the estate agent suggested she take advert down. There are fewer rentals available and more applicants so I don't think rental houses will sit empty.
@William Williams, I bet she knows how to claim UC and other benefits.
A certain Sandra Bowes-Rennox has a history of posting about PIP (Personal Independence Payment / disabled people) and being anti-Tory. She can't be at the top of any landlord's wish list!
@ Pat Gan, I would love to hear from a past landlord of Sandrs's to hear their side of events
Doing a deal with a council ? not a cats chance in hell, NO WAY NOT INTERESTED
Nooooooooooooooo.
Councils think the ONLY problem with landlords not accepting homeless is the rent, and if they alleviate this problem, landlords will be happy to rent to them!
THEY ARE SO WRONG!
The rent is an important component of landlord considerations, but it's only one of a number of considerations! Here's a few more....
1) Tenant lifestyle - Will they look after the property, keep the carpets clean, etc. More to the point if there's no rental history, there's no evidence they know and understand how to do this. I won't even consider home owners without some evidence they understand this (visit their home for example)
2) Tenant Understanding of life. Living in our homes requires a basic understanding of how things are and work. The heating, the stove, the water and how to set up and pay bills for example. If someone has no understanding of these things who is going to train and explain? It's going to fall on the landlord and it gets exhausting. This applies to all kinds of people in our community and doesn't necessarily mean homeless but they are right up there along with asylum seekers and immigrants.
3) Language. Possibly not usually a major concern for homeless people but an important factor all the same. If a tenant's English is poor, then communication on anything is going to be difficult and it means miscommunication and hassle I want to avoid. I don't care if you're from Africa, China or Pluto if you don't have good English you're not renting my house because you're a pain!
Agreed it's not just the money, why would I want to house a workshy bum scrounging tax payers money
So neither of you are Sandra Bowes-Rennox's landlord then?
Surely, in the long term it would be cheaper for the council to buy the properties. Unless this scheme is cheaper, in which case it's worse for the landlord.
I had an old car repair workshop in Norwich which I wanted to knock down and build flats on, the council cold shouldered me, wouldn't even talk about it, then they wanted to build social housing there themselves, so I sold the site to an engineering company who have now built a huge steel unit there, no way was i selling to the council why would I?
Ive never rented any of our houses to the council, and looking at the replies, I never will. I keep hearing the same stories over and over again. The government will never stop punishing landlords and then expect them to help them out as they have no houses....
We dont need to accept housing benefit tenants on our houses as they are all very high quality and in good areas. Our rents are low, but way above the LHA rents, and we have a good letting agent.
I do feel sorry for the UC tenants and we do have a few that we let to on low rents, in today's market they are never going to find a new house to let.
Landlords are not to blame, its the government policies that continue to kick landlords.
The government will reap what they sow. they will have to deal with the homeless people that cant find a house. The EPC C downgrade has bought at least 1 of my tenants time to find a new house. It will come back when Labor get in.
Council’s are to offer incentives to landlords to house the homeless That the Council’s created attacking landlords where’s the money Brent £13.m over Budget in a year and London £400m over Budget, so where are they getting the money what landlord are they going to mug.
Another hopeless ploy to bribe landlords. These councils must think it’s all about money, well NO, it’s about TRUST and councils have burnt away that trust absolutely.
Wlthout trust we can't do business
Exactly sometimes we say confidence same thing and we don’t have much of that with Government or Council’s.
The government has been screwing the landlords for years but now they need the landlords? To late for that, deal with the crap you have created.
I live in Exeter, and the issue is that the central government intends to reduce funding radically for homelessness, leaving Exeter Council in a dilemma.
The Exeter St Petrock homeless charity say the Exeter Council's impending financial crisis for homelessness will overspill onto the streets causing more social distress in Exeter city centre, (which is increasingly rapidly anyway), especially down the High Street. The adjoining Fore Street is now in the top 1% for anti-social behaviour.
I have counted 20 homeless people that hang around the main Exeter High Street in groups and have mental, drug and depression problems. There was a murder not long ago on Sidwell St. They need proper help. Due to government defunding, it will mean Gabriel House in the city centre will close, putting another 100 homeless people onto the streets of Exeter and surrounding streets. The notion these unhealthy, desperate individuals can be hidden under the PRS umbrella for further Government and Charity landlord bashing is morally reprehensible.
The Exeter Council housing dept is owed £137,000 in tenant damage that they freely admit will never get paid back as tenants leave and cannot be found or do not have the money to repay. Offloading this immense social housing problem is not simply about hard done by tenants and nasty landlords; it's about proper Government distribution of wealth and funding for those in need of social care. To pass this on to PRS Landlords is irresponsible and private landlords are unqualified to deal with homelessness - it is absurd and, quite frankly, wrong for PRS to be expected to take up this mantle.
Exeter Council's proposal is purely for financial savings and without concern over the probable outcomes PRS landlords with undoubtedly experience.
Whatever Exeter Council intends to pay PRS landlords as a financial incentive to take on this homelessness crisis is a drop in the ocean compared with the actual time and cost the PRS landlords will be expected to pay with damage, antisocial behaviour, legal costs,and unstable rental incomes as tenants come and go at will.
I hear rumours Gabriel House for the homeless will be used as another student accommodation block. Money begets money when the moral compass is lost.
Another council that promises u everything, then deserts u in 12 months, then brings Selective Licensing in and conditions that the SAME TENANT they gave you 2 years before, the council KNOW this tenant couldn't comply with the new Selective Licensing conditions.
Most of u r very good. But are u perfect? Read Licensing conditions and tell yourself:
1. Could u comply with all them.
2. Would u take any tenant on that wasn't the most prim proper person ever?
3. If u was a landlord getting older, would u want to be dealing with that for EVERY house EVERY tenant?
4. Could u be doing with giving out 200 pages to each tenant each house.
5. Would u take a Benefit tenant on after being told u had to comply with them conditions?
Selective Licensing conditions Feb 2022
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