Coronavirus – Covid 19 – Open Letter To All Landlords And Tenants

Coronavirus – Covid 19 – Open Letter To All Landlords And Tenants

15:28 PM, 22nd March 2020, About 5 years ago 32

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Dear All

Every single human being on this planet is both concerned and affected by the Covid-19 Corona virus in different ways. During these difficult times, it is important that we all remain level-headed, which is why I am sharing my private thoughts with those of you who rent your home and those of you who own those properties.

Above all, please show compassion and think about what will happen when this crisis is over.

  1. A “rent holiday” or a “mortgage holiday” is not the same as free money. It MUST be repaid.
  2. If you are able to pay it is extremely important that you do so, for reasons covered later in this list.
  3. If you work for a business which has been closed then you will receive 80% of your salary subject to a maximum of £2,500 a month. On this basis, you should be able to afford at least 80% of your rent or mortgage payments, if not more, because you will not be spending money on fuel, commuting, socialising etc.
  4. If you are claiming benefits, these will be paid as normal, so you should be able to pay for everything as you previously did.
  5. Further clarification is necessary from Government in regards to how self-employed people (including landlords) will be assisted through this crisis.
  6. If you are genuinely unable to pay some or all of your rent or mortgage, then open and honest communication with your landlord or mortgage lender is essential from day one. To claim a payment holiday will require you to prove that you are unable to make payments in full due to the crisis. There is no free money, it will need to be repaid, plus interest.
  7. If you are able to do so, it is better to borrow money than to miss rent or mortgage payments. Having a roof over your head is one of the essentials in life, such as food and warmth.
  8. If landlords fall into arrears on their mortgage, without good reason, good communication and documentary evidence of all of that, it is highly likely that their mortgage lenders will take possession of the property and look to sell it with vacant possession. This might not happen immediately, but it will happen at some point. If this happens on a large scale, tenants will find it extremely difficult to find another property to rent for the same price.
  9. Landlords will be able to recover possession of their properties when this crisis is over, as will their mortgage lenders if they are in arrears. They will also be able to obtain judgement for debt. You will need a good credit profile to be able to buy or rent property in the future.
  10. Some landlords will have Rent Guarantee Insurance and Legal Fees Protection policies. This means that if you do not pay your rent an insurance company will pay your landlord instead. The problem with this is that the insurance company will then chase you for the rent arrears and pay all of the landlords legal costs to deal with your eviction and judgement for debt, as soon as they are allowed to do so. Landlords are unlikely to have any control over this once a claim has been made.
  11. It is the moral duty of us all to assist each other through this crisis and to ensure that a housing crisis doesn’t follow Covid-19.

Please take a long term view.

I welcome your comments.

God bless us all.

Anon.


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Comments

Mick Roberts

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16:48 PM, 29th March 2020, About 5 years ago

U can use my text if u like. Or parts of it. It may not seem nice for those who don't know me or my tenants, but I started to get my majority benefit tenants to try it on (Well 2 of them-The rest supported me & the some others were about to ask me before saying Thanks to explaining to them that moron Corbyn had misled them).

Some of you lovely people have been texting asking for a rent holiday cause of the coronavirus. Now if u all want a rent holiday, there will be no houses no homes in 3 months, simple as that. There's not a magic tree out there to pay your outgoings.

The comment you may have heard on the media this week has not helped tenants at all. Corbyn Labour Anti Landlord tripe saying tenants can ask for a rent holiday was aimed at workers who have lost their job & FULL income & got to wait for benefits which YOU ARE ALREADY GETTING, but some of u r rubbing your hands in glee thinking that was aimed at u.

And it was a rent holiday, some of u have interpreted that as Ooh baby no rent to pay. The workers still had to pay when they get back on their feet. Some of u have got into arrears with me before & took years to pay & some still paying off now years later. You text saying Can I have rent holiday cause of coronavirus, then u also don't say I'll pay next week.

Some of u have been with me over 20 years, most of u over 5 to 10 years. I look after u the best I can despite all the constant recent attacks from Council and Govt. But I will not look after people trying to take advantage and plunge me and u into losing your home.

If I get one more text from someone on FULL benefits asking for rent holiday, I'm gonna' seriously consider selling your home. Some of u will know I'm only keeping the houses for you as it is your home & I respect that.
Please don't exploit the Coronavirus for financial gain and put everyone's else's home in jeapordy.

If you've genuinely lost your job, ring me & we'll get u on the benefits u entitled to.
If u not earning enough, u claim benefits. If u getting too much to claim benefits, the Govt are saying u r earning enough to pay your rent, so u don't need benefits. It's either one or the other.

We're not a large financial institution, so not able to bear the hardship, that would be inevitable result of rental holidays, so please look towards Govt support, as it is them and Councils that resulted in the below costs.

Below is the extra costs which the Govt & Councils has forced upon us, which I've now had to pay since u moved into your home. How some of u think this can be paid with no rent in is baffling.

We now have to do Fitness tests on new rentals £150 each house.
Electrical Installation Condition reports organisation & implementation £300+ each house.
Selective Licensing £890 just for one house.
Legionnaires checks £70 each house.
EPC’s £80 each house.
Data protection checks £40.
Carbon Monoxide detectors & smoke detectors, when wired, £300 each house.
Getting registered with Information Commission officer £40.
Floorplans, Inventories £90 each house.
Landlord has to criminal check himself & has to prove he has Right to live in UK
Increased staffing admin behind the scenes.
As you’ve seen, checks/inspections on your houses now with smoke alarms-Should be much more detailed checks.
Consultant & Legal fees to keep pace with legislation & staff training.
Letting Agent costs for new tenancies & house swaps £70pm each house.
All the above is extra costs we din’t have when many of u moved in.

Landlords are selling in their hundreds due to the increase in costs & the burden of ever increasing legislation.
Landlords are being fined when they get something slightly wrong.

As a company, we are really struggling to keep abreast with these constant legislation attacks, so much so, some of u know all new ones/swaps, we are having to place with Letting Agent.

The biggest changes are Selective Licensing & Universal Credit. Costs an absolute fortune in time & money to keep on top of it.

There are many Landlords out there who aren’t compliant, who are becoming unstuck every week.

We have no intention of selling on you & want you for the long term. Please help us to help u.

Mick Roberts

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9:11 AM, 31st March 2020, About 5 years ago

Brilliant.
A much politer way than I put it. I may have not cheesed off the 10% of Landlords then who have no clue of the benefit market if I'd have said it like this.
I'm gonna save this link for one of mine who said he may struggle end of month as work has dried up.

Judith Wordsworth

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10:05 AM, 31st March 2020, About 5 years ago

Brilliantly put. Makes you wonder why were even doing rentals!

Georgie Woods

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14:40 PM, 1st April 2020, About 5 years ago

My tenants have requested 3 month deferment of rent. In the same email they have offered to buy the house as they know we want to sell. I have genuinely struggling tenants to accommodate. Can I request proof of inability to pay as I know they are capable and have a deposit saved for a house. Or should I just refuse their request and see what happens.

Chris @ Possession Friend

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15:29 PM, 1st April 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Georgie Woods at 01/04/2020 - 14:40
Refuse, the cheeky B'****'ds

Lin Law

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1:31 AM, 7th April 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 23/03/2020 - 09:56
Applied and got rejected

Chris @ Possession Friend

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8:46 AM, 7th April 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Lin Law at 07/04/2020 - 01:31
Please name the Mortgage provider.

Gromit

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10:22 AM, 7th April 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Lin Law at 07/04/2020 - 01:31
Name & shame, then publicise is the only way to gets things changed.

Betty Hutcheson

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20:38 PM, 11th May 2020, About 5 years ago

Thank you for this. My tenant has been furlough and is asking for a rent reduction. He says his income has not been reduced 50% now that he is only receiving £2500 (furlough maximum) I would like to reduce his rent by 50% but he won't show me evidence of his salary before furlough. Am i being reasonable asking to know what his salary was or should i just take his word

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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22:39 PM, 11th May 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Betty Hutcheson at 11/05/2020 - 20:38
I think that’s more than reasonable.

I would tell him to pay what he can afford and roll up the rest as rent arrears, as per the Government guidance.

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