By Steve Roulstone
So Councils are considering evicting Tenants from Public sector rented property because of the involvement of family members in the recent disturbances. (I will not call them riots because to me it was criminality and opportunism of the worst kind, so to avoid any link or possible connection with any kind of justification what so ever, let’s call a spade a spade!) It will be interesting to see exactly how any such person coming from the Public sector will fare with the referencing system (by professional referencing Companies)in the Private sector, because they have been sheltered from the harsh realities of requirements both financial and procedural by being in Council housing.
Referencing.
The main reason people fail professional referencing is the inability to afford the rent payable, and without the knowledge of the individual circumstances surrounding this particular case as reported above, if they were Benefit recipients, then at the very least a Guarantor would need to be provided, before a Landlord would even consider accepting Tenants on Benefit payments. The main reason is quite simple and nothing to do with the standard of Tenant, but because the Council pay in arrears, in four weekly instalments and because the Tenant has to continually confirm their own circumstances in order to continue in receipt of Benefits. Too often I have witnessed payments stopping because of this requirements and it can take up to six months to resolve in the worst cases and with the slowest Councils.
Payments.
The other significant difference will be the need to supply a full deposit. At this point I would add, not a Council supported system where no money changes hands, because despite the Council being happy to confirm that they will honour problems when the Tenancy starts (in order to get the person of their books!), all they actually do is create another barrier to the Landlords ability to re-let, by arguing at every opportunity and in one case, just refusing to pay because they did not agree with what the Agent had confirmed. Well excuse me, but we do not need any further hurdles to jump when seeking recourse when Tenants damage or mistreat property! But also rent in advance and paid by standing order, in advance from then on. This can be a barrier, especially for Benefit applicants, because the system just will not make the allowance and pay in advance for those seeking property from the Private sector.
Eviction.
I also note with interest the reference to problems in getting cases through the courts. The system of using Section 8 notices is of course designed to get action quickly and there is no doubt that the courts let Landlords down time and again, but there are other ways and other notices, such as a section 21 notice, which can be issued at the start of the Tenancy to protect the Landlord, because the courts have no choice but to award possession to the Landlord under a section 21, but once again, unless the notice is current, some courts will not allow them. But the final point I just cannot resist making, is what the courts reaction would be to a Landlord wishing to evict in the Private sector if a Tenant was found guilty under similar circumstances? Just a small bet on the BBC reacting through one of its typical early morning sound bites, raising concerns on behalf of Tenants!
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