My landlord has just increased my rent by £700 per month

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 21/08/2024 - 10:46
Hi Reluctant Landlord,

I'm replying to both of your comments here.

Firstly, you're absolutely right—this service, like all others, depends on a willing tenant who seeks help. If either the tenant or landlord isn't interested in the assistance, there's unfortunately little we can do.

As for councils, much like with tenants and landlords, there are good eggs and bad eggs. Sometimes, even after presenting all the facts to a housing officer, it can feel like you're talking to a wall. In such cases, it's important to remind the council of its statutory duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. If that doesn't work, every citizen has the right to escalate the matter to the Ombudsman, and if necessary, pursue a Judicial Review. There have been many instances where families have successfully challenged councils. This, however, requires the claimant to have a good understanding of homelessness case law and their rights under council obligations.

Regarding negotiations, yes, most situations will require the landlord to sign a new tenancy agreement. The council's involvement aims to preserve and sustain the tenancy. If a landlord were to evict the tenant after receiving financial support, it would defeat the purpose, as the family would still end up in costly temporary accommodation.

Typically, the new tenancy agreement is fixed-term, meaning no rent increases during that period. This is why it's crucial to ensure the initial rent is set correctly to cover potential increases in the following fixed-term period.

Lastly, yes, we are a for-profit company, earning a fee for each family we help prevent from becoming homeless.

Reply to the comment left by Steve O'Dell at 21/08/2024 - 08:11
Without a lot more of the background story you cannot suggest "u fit mother'. We do not know why she is single now? Perhaps she was abused gyba bad husband or the husband died?

At the end of the day, it seems that many people cannot afford market rents and the government is topping it up. The question is why can’t people earn enough to live? And when will new buildings be made available because there is a housing shortage. I don’t get the difficulty in building UP? Go to Spain, China, Dubai… it’s one big massive building site. Why can’t unemployed people be retrained (save the benefits bill) to be housebuilders (save the homelessness bill). A bit of joined up thinking is all you need but the U.K. doesn’t work like that. Import companies with the skills if it’s not home grown. Surely, the £2bn in housing homeless people would be better spent on building some flats? Or is that just too simplistic?

Reply to the comment left by Denzel at 21/08/2024 - 11:19
It is great you are helping these situations and obviously did well here. But it still does not address the core problem. Citizens living on Universal Credit. It just perpetuates it. maybe in this case there are circumstances where this cannot change but most situations are self inflicted. UC is supposed to be a support when you fall on hard times, not a way of life as it seems to have become for many. So over the next 2 years how are you going to help them/him/her to move to a position where they can support themselves? It is perhaps a political problem but the situation is getting worse. As somebody else mentioned why staying in London? Most expensive area. You can rent a 3 bed in Spalding for £750pm. If you low skilled then you can transfer that skill elsewhere.

Reply to the comment left by Bryan at 24/08/2024 - 12:43`but most situations are self inflicted`
Many many of my UC tenants are not there because they self inflict . Some have low paid jobs in eg the caring industry so are part wages part UC . Some have all manner of neurological conditions which mean they find it hard to function effectively in mainstream society . Some just don`t have the skills to hold down a job for any length of time . Some are victims of DV. Some after single mums after partner ran off . Some are drug addicts , ex cons etc . Yes there are of course some who game the system but if society provided a cohesive structure to support the vulnerable and less privileged and keep them in their rented homes that is far far cheaper than other state provided stays in places such as hospital / police cells / prison / TA . That costs last time i looked maybe 300 per night as opposed to 300 a month room in the PRS in some areas . If the likes of Denzel can prevent that meltdown occurring by supporting the bridge between DWP / the councils and the PRS then the costs benefits are tremendous to society as a whole . This is why some London Boroughs paid me a 5K bribe to take their `stock` . Its not the total answer far from it but in my view pound for pound its good value for society and for a LL stuck with a problem. Society will always have thousands and thousands of people who cannot support themselves

Reply to the comment left by 5h at 25/08/2024 - 17:49
Nah - not all stupid . For some LL`s its a very valid sensible strategic decision which saves them much more money in the ensuing year than the rent increase itself would generate . A chain of negative very costly events can easily be triggered by an ill-timed rent increase which far outweigh what the raise is attempting to achieve

Reply to the comment left by Denzel at 21/08/2024 - 11:36
Thank for the clarification - I have to ask though, just to complete the circle of understanding, who funds your fee?

£700 increase in rent ! God save the tenants, yes I am a Landlord and on this I have to take the tenants side, I would have thought that when things become unviable, then it is time to quit, so the mortgage holder should simply tell the tenant to find an alternative accommodation as he cannot meet mortgage repayments. So then of course this means the tenant will be homeless unless he can find an alternative property for about the same rent he was paying, there is absolutely no reason why banks should always be winning when interest rates goes up if they have loaned some money , they should also suffer some of the consequences of higher BOE interest rates too.
However, if I was a money lender and I had a chunk of money to lend, I would loan it out at a fixed rate of interest for the entire length of the loan or mortgage, irrespective of what bank of England interest rates are set at, so it is time for Government to step in and stop mortgage lenders from increasing interest rates when BOE interest rates rise of fall, all mortgages should be offered at affordable fixed rate of interest. so this sort of nonsense does not arise.
I am glad I own my property outright and no debt on it so I am able to rent it out at well below market rents, for 2 years now I am renting a 2 bedroom 1st Floor Flat for £850 pcm, in East London close to Stratford. I have no intention of increasing the rent as yet, this is my way of helping the poor stand on their feet. There was a time I lived in a rented accommodation. So I have been through that route, it is time people should help poor who need support in kind.

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 27/08/2024 - 19:43
That’s very honorable, but to explore your logic a bit deeper why don’t you simply sell your property, get a 5% return on your cash in a deposit account and give half of your interest away to one or more homeless people?

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 20/08/2024 - 21:27I dont understand your logic. Are you saying that it's not a problem because once the current tenant has been made homeless, the vacant property will become tenanted by someone who is already homeless?

Assuming so, what is the logic on your argument?

Your argument is a fallacy, it's just maintaining the status quo and exacerbating the problem. Surely it makes more sense to prevent the current tenant from being made homeless, to stop this from happening in the first place to save the tax payer (you) money?