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The overwhelming majority of private landlords are trying to help tenants affected by the pandemic

Our survey shows that the pandemic has resulted in a spirit of co-operation between landlords and tenants in most cases. Policymakers should consider the next steps carefully, writes Ben Beadle

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The overwhelming majority of private landlords are trying to help tenants affected by the pandemic, writes Ben Beadle #ukhousing

Our survey shows that the pandemic has resulted in a spirit of co-operation between landlords and tenants in most cases. Policymakers should consider the next steps carefully, writes Ben Beadle #ukhousing

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging the rental market in a way we have not seen in recent history.

Tenants who thought they were in stable employment suddenly began to worry about how they would pay their rent if they lost their job.

Landlords worried what would happen if rent payments could not be made, they could not access properties to undertake essential work or they were unexpectedly left with an empty property that they could not let with all the costs to go with it.

At the outset, the National Residential Landlords Association’s (NRLA) goal has been to support landlords to sustain tenancies through the current crisis and beyond. Our new research, published today, shows that this is happening.

According to the survey of more than 4,500 private landlords, of those approached by their tenants during the pandemic for some sort of help, 90% have responded positively.

This has included offering tenants a rent reduction or deferral, a rent-free period, early release from a tenancy or a refund on service charges included in rents for homes of multiple occupation. Such a request has been received by 44% of landlords.


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Overall, 54% of landlords said that they have been affected by the virus in some way, experiencing some combination of rent payment problems or unanticipated periods when properties have been empty.

While many landlords are taking a hit to rental income, the majority are showing flexibility and seeking to support tenants to sustain their tenancies.

Underlying this are the many positive stories of landlords helping their tenants. This has included offering key workers free or reduced rent accommodation, shopping for vulnerable tenants and proactively assuring tenants in difficulty that their housing will not be at risk.

Some have argued that the scale of the crisis means that no tenant should have to pay any rent at the moment. As the government, the Labour Party and Shelter have recently noted, this would not be sensible.

Those whose incomes have not been affected, and who can continue to afford their rent, should continue to do so. After all, where would it end? Should social tenants not be expected to pay their rents?

If so, how do councils and housing associations afford to develop the new social housing the country needs?

Should homeowners stop paying their mortgages, despite risks that defaulting on payments would bring?

Contrary to some perceptions, not all private landlords are well-off and can afford for tenants not to pay their rent. A large number rely on their rental income for their livelihood or their pension.

Government figures show that 45% of landlords rent only one property and around 40% have a total income, excluding rent, of less than £20,000.

While we welcome the measures taken to help both tenants and landlords get through this crisis, we continue to campaign for further action.

Along with other organisations we are calling for the housing allowance to be increased still further to ensure it can cover rents and for an end to the five-week wait for the first payment of Universal Credit.

We are also heartened at the cross-party support building among MPs and peers for Spanish-style interest-free loans for tenants who might be struggling.

As we look to the recovery period and the eventual lifting of the moratorium on repossessions, a number of actions are needed to reassure tenants while giving landlords the confidence they need to stay in the market.

First and foremost, it is beholden on us all to avoid the rhetoric of an ‘avalanche of evictions’. It serves to cause needless anxiety and defies all the evidence that landlords do not want to lose tenants if possible.

“We are heartened at the cross-party support building among MPs and peers for a Spanish-style interest-free loans for tenants who might be struggling”

The average length that a tenant has been in their current private rented property is more than four years. The overwhelming majority of tenancies are ended by the tenant, not the landlord.

Evidence from Hamptons International shows that 70% of tenancies that were due to end in March were renewed, the highest level recorded in any March since 2008 – proof that landlords want to keep tenants in situ.

Second, we are working with the government to develop a pre-action protocol for the private rented sector. This will ensure that landlords will first need to show that they have done everything possible to work with tenants to manage rent arrears before considering seeking the power to repossess a property.

Taking the protocol for the social rented sector as an example, protections will be embedded to ensure that landlords do not seek to circumvent the need to first to seek a mutually agreeable solution with tenants.

Third, amid calls for immediate changes to the ways landlords can repossess properties, we would urge caution to avoid the unintended consequence of making it more difficult to evict anti-social tenants causing misery for fellow tenants and neighbours or, worse still, those perpetrating domestic abuse.

The government has committed to ending Section 21, but that has to be done properly to avoid worsening the situation. Through the Renters’ Reform Bill, clear, comprehensive grounds are needed through which landlords can seek to repossess properties for legitimate reasons.

This must be coupled with reforms to the way courts handle cases to reflect a more proportionate and digitised way of resolving disputes, while ensuring that the right of tenants to challenge the actions of bad landlords is protected.

The coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated the extent to which the vast majority of landlords and tenants are working in a spirit of co-operation and understanding to address difficulties that have arisen. We should use this as a springboard to improve the private rented sector further.

Ben Beadle, chief executive, NRLA

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