Welcome to our first Newsround for September, let’s see what has happened in the housing news this week.

Landlords withdrawing from the temporary accommodation sector

Feedback from Local Authorities seems to indicate that more and more Landlords, particularly in London, are no longer willing to help Local Authorities comply with their statutory duty to house the homeless.

Landlords are increasingly evicting homeless families in order to sell the property or rent to private tenants.

Local Authorities (after many years of right-to-buy sell-offs) now have limited accommodation of their own to use to house the homeless, many of whom they have a duty to rehouse if applicants are deemed to be in ‘priority need’.

So, they are very dependent on the private sector.

A few have been buying property to help them house the homeless, but with stretched budgets (and some on the verge of bankruptcy), many Councils cannot afford this.  So a reported loss of 6% of London’s total Temporary Accommodation stock is not good news.  It has resulted in a dramatic 781 increase in homeless families placed in bed and breakfast beyond the six-week legal limit.

Bearing in mind also that research carried out by the London School of Economics shows that there has been a 41% reduction in properties in London available for private rent since 2020.

Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ executive member for regeneration, housing and planning, said:

Across London we see landlords withdrawing their properties from use as temporary accommodation, meaning that boroughs run out of alternatives and place families with children in unsuitable B&Bs.

The homelessness situation in London is becoming unmanageable. We need the government to work with us in reversing the numbers relying on temporary accommodation.

But will they?

Government’s favouring of ‘build to rent’ criticised

LandlordZone reports on mortgage and financial experts criticising the government for their focus on build-to-rent and large commercial landlords, such as Legal and General and John Lewis who are moving into the PRS, while increased financial pressures and regulation are squeezing out smaller landlords.

To, it is believed, the detriment of tenants on tight budgets.

Graham Cox of SelfEmployed Mortgage Hub says:

The current administration is ideologically averse to building social housing at any great scale, they think the private rented sector can take up the slack.

They absolutely envisage a future where big corporations will own most of the privately rented housing stock, house prices continue to soar, and the average Joe is priced out of owning their own home.

Joe Garner of Joe Garner Consulting says

The real agenda has now unfolded: a massive shift of private property into the hands of corporate giants and deep-pocketed investors,

And Peter Stamford, director of Moor Mortgages saying

The government is pushing homes into big corporate hands, side-lining everyday landlords. These big players chase profits, often ignoring affordable housing. We need both small and large landlords for a fair housing market. We need to challenge this before it’s too late.

Presumably, all this will have nothing to do with large corporations and builders’ donations to Conservative party funds …

Landlords warned about flouting licensing rules

A large licensing scheme in Birmingham due to start shortly will require landlords to apply for a licence by Monday, September 4th 2023.

Details of the scheme can be found here, and note that it only covers 25 of the 69 Birmingham wards – if your property is outside those areas, you do not need to worry.

However, it appears that many affected landlords, hostile to the scheme, are listening to advice on social media and refusing to apply.  According to this post, only 15% have signed up so far.

Failing to apply, though, would be a mistake.  If you fail to obtain a license, you will be committing a criminal offence.  You will be making yourself vulnerable not just to prosecution and fines but also to claims by tenants for a rent repayment order.  Which could prove VERY expensive as these rent repayment awards can be for up to 12 months’ worth of rent.

Tenants must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect.

So, if you are affected by this – be very careful indeed about listening to advice –  on social media or elsewhere – to ignore the new licensing requirements.  Unlike solicitors, social media influencers and the like are unlikely to be covered by insurance, so you will not be able to claim compensation if you suffer financial loss by following their guidance.

Snippets

Landlord repays thousands in rent after second incident in seven months
Climate change will hugely increase demand for greener short lets, says expert
Haringey Council reveals 43 fines totalling £217,000 for rogue landlords
Retrofitting rental homes will boost the UK economy, study shows
Police told to start arresting landlords who illegally evict tenants
End landlord squeeze or face social breakdown, Ministers warned
Banning orders against rogue landlords have been a flop, new data shows
Fraudsters trying to take advantage over lack of supply in student accommodation

Newsround will  be back next week

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