My Open Letter to Shelter who are calling for Section 21 to be banned & prosecuting Landlords who don’t take Benefit tenants

Shelter are doing webinars on: The Renters’ Reform Bill Q&A session is scheduled for 30 March 18:30 – 19:30 and will be run over Zoom Click here

Rebalancing the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. By driving up standards, landlords will know what’s expected of them, and we hope that the new tenancies that are introduced when Section 21 is scrapped are really clear for both landlords and tenants.

The DSS Q&A session is scheduled for 27 April 18:30 – 19:30 and will be run over Zoom Click here

We have done lots of work with mortgage providers to remove ‘no DSS’ clauses and consequently, over 99% of providers now no longer have this clause. We’ve worked directly with the insurance industry, who have assured us that there are a whole range of insurance policies readily available and at a reasonable cost, to cover letting to a tenant who receives benefits.

My Open Letter to Shelter

Dear Shelter,

I’m the biggest Benefit Landlord in Nottingham, u do know about me, yet it’s completely baffling how you’ve still not picked up the phone to talk to see WHY we ain’t taking benefit tenants anymore.

U ain’t helping. We didn’t have these homeless problems pre-2015 before all the landlord attacks.

U supported Selective Licensing, and that’s been the biggest cause of homeless in Nottingham since the Queen took reign.

Landlords love Licensing for the income it brings, it’s given them a Licence to print money in extortionate rents. We have no competition, because of Govt and Councils and yourselves calling for more regulation.

Every Anti Landlord regulation the Govt & Councils & yourselves have called for, has cut supply & made it worse & more expensive for tenants, especially Benefit tenants. I used to love helping Benefit tenants. I no longer can because of all these policies.

Benefit tenants can’t afford these extortionate rents anymore which Landlords command, some because they have to, some because they think Screw u I’m charging more now, & some just because they can cause 50 working people queuing for every property – Benefit tenants don’t get a look in.

Ooh & some, because if u want New Build Standards, you gonna pay New Build rents.

You are too besotted by the minority bad landlords & areas that you are forgetting the massive majority that u don’t hear about that haven’t got a problem.

When this section 21 gets banned, u watch rents spiral upwards yet again. Councils won’t take tenants anymore when more Sections 8’s get issued cause that’s intentionally homeless.

U thought Landlords weren’t taking Benefit tenants cause of mortgage restrictions & insurance? And what’s happening now? Ooh, Landlords are still refusing Benefit tenants. Wake up Shelter, come & ask us why. Landlords are telling u all sorts of excuses, because u will prosecute them if u don’t like the answer.

Gees, u have no idea. I want to be your friend. People like me have been housing your clients for 25 years & you are pushing us away. U make it better for that one tenant that rings u, consequently u then make it worse for the next 1000 tenants with another anti-landlord ruling or reg.

Simple one for u, who does it help when the Judge chucks it out of court because the Landlord has no proof he gave a boiler certificate 6 years ago? And he’s had a new boiler since, so it’s a completely irrelevant certificate for the old boiler.

It helps that ONE tenant. But u know afterwards, when the Landlord has spent another £1000 on court fees & solicitors & he eventually gets his house back, he sells the ruddy thing & the next Landlord don’t take any less than perfect working tenant again & charges the earth.

You should be coming to ask us and saying Mick, what can we do for u that is going to make u not sell all your houses and what can we do to entice more landlords in as we in the crap here, our hostels are full too and not emptying.

We’re sorry we wanted all your 50-year-old houses to have New build standards, we didn’t realise that would result in impossible rents for benefit tenants.

Few extracts below & link herein
https://docs.google.com/document/d/111cUAfUbS8mdHI1uOoE_V3i6zRZnp1JJXjd4yQeTXXs/edit?usp=sharing
from pieces I & other Landlords have written on the issues u need to solve. Long I know. But work with us and rents will reduce.

I am emailing u privately these long bits.

Mick Roberts

Share This Article