Angela Rayner launches £1 billion scheme to tackle evictions

Angela Rayner launches £1 billion scheme to tackle evictions

10:13 AM, 20th December 2024, About 2 months ago 65

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Angela Rayner has announced a £1 billion plan to prevent evictions and tackle homelessness.

In the largest-ever investment in homelessness prevention, the government has unveiled plans to allocate nearly £1 billion to council budgets to address the homeless crisis.

The funding will support mediation with landlords and families to avoid evictions, assist individuals in securing new homes, and provide deposits to access private rental properties.

End no-fault evictions

According to the government, around 40% of homeless families are living in B&Bs or nightly-let accommodation, and the use of this emergency accommodation has doubled in three years.

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said: “Too many people have been failed by the system time and again. More than160,000 children face spending this Christmas without a stable place to call home. I am determined to break the cycle of spiralling homelessness and get back on track to ending it for good.

“This largest-ever investment marks a turning point, giving councils the tools they need to act quickly and put in place support for people to tackle, reduce and prevent homelessness. It’s time to turn the tide.

“This historic funding comes alongside our work developing a cross-government strategy back on track to end homelessness, pulling every lever of the state, to ensure that we deliver not just sticking plasters but a long-term plan.

“Through our plan for change I am determined to tackle the housing crisis we inherited head-on, building the homes we need, delivering the biggest boost in social and affordable housing in a generation and ending no-fault evictions.”

In a government press release, it was claimed that Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are one of the leading causes of homelessness, but gave no figures to support this claim.

Help prison leavers access private rented homes

The funding will support councils to prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation where required for families who recently became homeless, for example, through eviction or fleeing domestic violence.

The government says the funding will enable councils to continue offering tailored support, including helping prison leavers access private rented homes and running local programs that provide new education and employment opportunities.

Local authorities will also be able to choose to channel resources into services including Housing First, which prioritises access to secure housing for people with histories of repeat homelessness and multiple disadvantages including drug and alcohol abuse.


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Northernpleb

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12:04 PM, 29th December 2024, About a month ago

With regards to Mick and others, Many of us
will have existing tenants who are less than perfect , (been with us years who we have tolerated. whilst keeping the property safe ).
This could run into tens of thousands over the country .
The Government is leaving us with no sensible option but to start the eviction process whilst we still can. Hopefully the Council will house them.

Mick Roberts

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15:59 PM, 29th December 2024, About a month ago

Reply to the comment left by Northernpleb at 29/12/2024 - 12:04
Tolerated the right word.
I'm selling most of mine next 2 years. I've had enough.

Cider Drinker

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11:39 AM, 31st December 2024, About a month ago

If there were no evictions, where would the homeless hope to live?

Jessie Jones

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12:00 PM, 31st December 2024, About a month ago

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 31/12/2024 - 11:39
Well, according to all the lefty loons, if Mrs T hadn't sold off the council houses, they could have all lived in those.
But for Starmer and Rachel from accounts, maths isn't their best subject.

Ian Narbeth

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10:43 AM, 6th January 2025, About 4 weeks ago

"In a government press release, it was claimed that Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are one of the leading causes of homelessness, but gave no figures to support this claim."
Even if figures were given, this is a fallacious argument. It appears on the surface quite reasonable but, and it's a big but, s21 notices do not causes homelessness. It may be true that many, perhaps most of the people who are homeless received a s21 notice. So, it is argued, the notice has caused them to be homeless.
This is a post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy. "After this, therefore because of this."
If someone is evicted and there are available affordable houses, then they can be re-housed. The housing market is dynamic with tenants ceasing to be tenants, newcomers becoming tenants, rental properties being added and rental properties being taken off the market. The problem we have is an imbalance between demand and supply. Importantly, the population as a whole is growing - largely because of net immigration - and the supply of housing is either going down or not increasing at a commensurate rate. This in turn leads to rents going up which makes it more costly for tenants to rent.
The call for mediation implicitly acknowledges that there are reasons for landlords seeking to terminate the landlord/tenant relationship. Commonly, it's rent arrears, damage to the property or anti-social behaviour.
Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister says he sees no evidence of landlords leaving and argues that the size of the PRS had ‘doubled since the early 2000’s’. So what? The demand for rented accommodation has grown even more. There are fewer landlords now than if successive Government had not imposed extra costs, risk and burdens on landlords and encourage a culture of vilification. That in turn leads to a shortage of property to rent. Combined with increasing demand from a growing population and we have a sort of game of musical chairs and increasing homelessness.
The next time someone tells you that s21 notices are the cause of homelessness, explain to them the post hoc fallacy. By way of analogy, ask them if redundancy notices cause unemployment and if they think that banning employers from issuing redundancy notices would tackle unemployment.

Beaver

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12:16 PM, 6th January 2025, About 4 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 06/01/2025 - 10:43
I think that this is all true but how much this government will care I really don't know.

According to this link the increase in employer's NI imposed by this government is triggering massive job cuts.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/01/06/record-tax-raid-triggers-mass-job-cuts/

GlanACC

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15:56 PM, 8th January 2025, About 4 weeks ago

Where's this £1bilion coming from as it appears the government now only has £1.3billion headroom since the latest rises in interest rates on gilts

Beaver

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16:16 PM, 8th January 2025, About 4 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 08/01/2025 - 15:56
I don't know. But she's going to need more than £1 billion anyway because she keeps driving the cost of providing rental accommodation up.

There's a bit of news just out that says that under Labour's renters' rights bill, landlords are going to be banned from asking for more than one month's worth of rent upfront.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/landlords-banned-asking-money-upfront-34440110

At the moment you can only legally ask for 5 weeks' rent as a deposit. You can't send a tenant an invoice for repairs that are not fair wear and tear so you already incur more risk than you used to. And the only thing that you can do to reduce the risk of taking on higher risk tenants, other than to ask for a guarantor, is to ask for rent upfront; but that's being taken away.

But I'm guessing that there's not going to be any law that says that you can't accept a tenant that offers a higher rent than you are asking for as long as you don't actually ask for it?

Ian Narbeth

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10:03 AM, 9th January 2025, About 4 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 08/01/2025 - 16:16You write: "I'm guessing that there's not going to be any law that says that you can't accept a tenant that offers a higher rent than you are asking for as long as you don't actually ask for it?"
Sorry Beaver, I am afraid you are wrong. So called rental bidding will be outlawed. Section 55 of the Renters Rights Bill says:
(2) A relevant person [i.e.a landlord or letting agent] must not advertise in writing, or otherwise offer in writing, the proposed letting unless— (a) the rent that is to be payable under the letting is a specific amount (the “proposed rent”), and
(b) the advertisement or offer states the proposed rent.
(3) A relevant person must not— (a) invite or encourage any person to offer to pay an amount of rent under the proposed letting that exceeds the stated rent, or
(b) accept an offer from any person to pay an amount of rent under the proposed letting that exceeds the stated rent.
55(3)(b) catches even unsolicited offers.
If this is breached, the local authority can impose a fine of up to £7000.

Julian Lloyd

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10:20 AM, 9th January 2025, About 4 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 09/01/2025 - 10:03
I actually wrote to MP Labour MP last week on this. The problem with not being allowed to accept highter rental offers on new tenancies, ie a bidding war- is that a LL will naturally start the new contract at a overly high initial rent to chance his arm and then negotiate down. The drawback with this is that someone may accept the higher rent which then adjusts all the local rent levels in that area. This silly clause will accelerate rental rises.

ps. You can tell its cold today. Ive seen Socialists with their hands in their own pockets?

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