Half of tenants are ‘one pay cheque away’ from homelessness – Shelter claims

Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 22/08/2023 - 17:08
What I'm saying here is that I have enough money in my SIPP to build residential property. I'm just not allowed to do it.

I'm allowed to invest in companies sending arms to Yemen, or cigarettes to Africa. I'm allowed to invest in fossil fuels, or companies selling potentially addictive pharmaceuticals to young people.

But I'm not allowed to invest my SIPP in property that could put a roof over somebody's head whilst reducing their dependence upon technologies that depend upon non-renewables.

I cannot see how that serves any public benefit.

If my income was about £70,000,000 pa I promise I would provide housing, and be a really good landlord.

If only there was a charity that could do this.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 22/08/2023 - 17:13I see what you're saying. I was referring to this governments half-baked idea of forcing pension funds to invest in 'risky' assets.

One day, Polly might sit back and think about the number of people she has had a hand in making homeless, due the constant vilifing of PRS landlords, who have decided to sell up due to extra costs and regulations, being introduced due her and other organisations constant badgering of the government.

A bit of digging of the internet shows that Polly Neates ' worth is at least £1.05m and her husband Hugh Thornberry isn't short of a few bob either. Also the percentage of her salary from Shelter is among the highest % of turnover at around 0.22%. If you think about it it would take an awful lot of secondhand books sold in the charity shops just to pay her salary.

It breaks my heart. There are some feckless types but there are also a lot of hard working decent families on low incomes that no longer have a choice. Very little social/council housing. Councils struggling to find temporary accommodation. I certainly wouldn't want tenants that require UC top ups to afford rents because we know that if anything happens councils will encourage even decent people to default and stay without paying their rent. I'm selling anyway, like most on here. I can't take the risk and don't need the stress. The PRS worked OK until George Osborne and David Cameron started their assault. They started the ball rolling that is now going so fast it's unstoppable. Their medaling hasn't only ruined the PRS, it's ruining the whole economy. Other MPs could have put the breaks on but chose not to, they chose to carry on this path of destruction with more and more pressure being piled on the PRS. This is what they wished for, I'm not really sure why, it never made any sense to me. I just feel so sad because its the least able to cope that are suffering the most 😭

I'm pretty sure that our economy could have just about survived COVID, the war and even immigration, but this self-inflicted sabotage of the PRS was totally unnecessary. George Osborne and David Cameron should write a book "How to Cause a Housing Crisis" enabled by Charities and the Media.

Shelter as usual are totally misrepresenting the facts - they have again mentioned Landlords in an unfavourable light for their own purposes. I must be one hell of a soft touch, I have a good few properties, most of my tenants have been with me for years - would I kick someone out for missing a single payment NO not a chance the cost involved would be ridiculously disproportionate. The property is their home and I would not deprive them of that unless there was a very good reason - I also do put the rent up every year to just under market value - mainly to keep the lenders happy so that when the mortgages come up for renewal I will comply with the various restrictions imposed by the lenders. In my experience almost all tenants will try to make up the lost rent - I can usually juggle funds around to cover the shortfall in any particular month. Once again shelter are totally misleading in their emotive claim just looking for publicity - if they spent half their time housing people rather than criticising people that do provide housing, they would have some experience and be able to talk sensibly about a given situation and not just line their own pockets.

Reply to the comment left by Tim Rogers at 22/08/2023 - 11:29
You would need to show a financial loss suffered from the misrepresentation. That would be difficult.

Shelter like other large charities need to keep in the lime light. They need this as there is competition from other charities for valuable local and national government funds and private donations. They need to stay relevant.

The s.21 drum was easy pickings but now it's more difficult to find an equally punchy and easily understood message. But whatever they do Shelter like other charities will never achieve their mission as the goal posts will not be static.

Also, it is the same Shelter that doesn't pay its shop staff enough to afford a home. Check out the salaries on their charity shops for your self.

Reply to the comment left by Andrew Mcgaulley at 22/08/2023 - 18:50
Every time she & Generation Rent & an anti-landlord MP talk, u can bet another 100+ Landlords decide to sell.