Landlords Made Scapegoats For COVID Rent Debt Crisis

The Chancellor is making landlords the scapegoats for the COVID rent debt crisis as he turns his back on the support the sector needs. A new report published by the National Residential Landlords Association outlines the toll that COVID-19 has taken on the private rented sector. It warns that without financial support to tackle COVID-related rent arrears, the Chancellor is forcing landlords into a corner. They either have to accept continuing to receive no income or resort to repossessing their property with all the consequences this course of action entails for tenants. The NRLA is warning that the goodwill of landlords in the face of mounting rent debts cannot continue without support from the Treasury. Read more on the NRLA website.

https://www.nrla.org.uk/news/landlords-made-scapegoats-for-covid-rent-debt-crisis 

Government Plan To Improve Energy Efficiency Will Increase Rents

The Government’s decision to remove all financial support for landlords hoping to make homes more energy efficient will inevitably raise rents. New laws mean that from 2018 it will be illegal to rent out property with an energy efficiency ratings of F and G and now the RLA is warning that forcing landlords to carry out costly works without support will have a knock on effect for tenants. Nearly a third of private rented housing was constructed before 1919 making homes to let some of the hardest to treat properties for energy efficiency improvements. With fuel poverty a bigger challenge in the private rented sector as a result, the RLA argues it is remiss that the Government’s consultation on the future of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) makes no reference to the private rented sector. Read more on the RLA website.

Politicians Call for ‘Help to Move’ Package to Help Older People Downsize

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing and Care for Older People has urged the Government to offer a package of financial support and advice to make it easier for older people to move home if they wish to downsize. The ‘Help to Move’ scheme would include a stamp duty exemption for older people buying lower value homes, an equity loan offer - similar to ‘Help to Buy’ - and advice linked to new pensions freedoms. The inquiry’s final report argues that a ‘Help to Move’ equity loan would help older homeowners with lower value properties ‘bridge the gap’ between the value of their home and the purchase price of a new retirement property – pointing out that many older people cannot easily access mainstream mortgage lending, even when they can afford the repayments. Read more on the Demos website.

Suffering Tenants Clueless About Financial Help

Over two thirds of social housing tenants suffering financial hardship are in the dark about the support available to them through charitable grants, new research has shown.  Charity Turn2us found that 69% of its users living in social housing were completely unaware of charitable grants, while 38% had been struggling financially for over a year before checking what support could be available to them. And as a result of their situation, 71% have been forced to cut back on food and heating, and 68% had to rely on the financial support of family and friends. Read more on the Turn2us website.

Landlords Should Support Social Enterprises

Housing associations should provide greater financial support for social enterprises that are trying to create employment opportunities for homeless people, according to a report.  Although housing associations are a stable source of income for a number of so-called ‘work integration social enterprises’, the potential of the sector is far greater, a network aimed at driving social change says in its research.  The report calculated while there are more than 1,200 housing associations in England and Wales 69 per cent spend less than £50,000 a year with any social enterprise.  Download a copy of the report from the Clore website.

What Does The Benefit Cap Mean For Cities?

First, the impact of the benefit cap will vary significantly between cities. Because it is being set nationally at £26,000 the vast majority of these households will be located in just a few cities, with around half estimated to live in London.

Second, the benefit cap is unlikely to encourage large numbers of people back to work. Many UK cities face the challenge of stubbornly high unemployment.  Research suggests that while these kinds of welfare sanctions may be successful in getting people off benefits, this may be because they drop out of the system altogether, rather than moving into sustainable employment.

Third, the benefit cap does nothing to change the fundamental factors driving up the cost of welfare across the country. For example, housing benefit payments represent the second largest proportion of welfare spending in the UK. They tend to be largest in those cities where house prices and rental rates have increased sharply over the past twenty years. This means that more people in these cities require financial support to find a home, and that the cost of this support is also increasing. Simply capping the total amount of benefits that working-age people can receive will not tackle this issue. Read more on the Centre for Cities website.