Quote:
Originally Posted by Kizzy
So how are people living in squalor then if there are so many safeguards in place?
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Most landlords, obviously, know all of the ins and out and can play the system. Especially these "slum" landlords. The tenants have rented maybe what... 5 homes in their life, if that. The landlords have rented out hundreds year upon year. They have VASTLY more experience of the system, is the sad truth.
My current landlord is useless. Not interested at all in the house, it was a 70's nightmare when we moved in, the kitchen was bright orange, the carpets were ancient and stained, there was a gas fire in the living room that was at least 40 years old and looked like a death trap... We only chose to live here because it's a very sought after little village (with a very sought after school) and houses don't come up for rent very often at all - let alone affordable ones.
We've had quite a few problems to fix from the kitchen to the bathroom to the guttering to damp on the bedroom ceilings (caused by the gutters) and the landlord just was not doing anything at all... So I didn't give him the rent, and eventually he suggested that we sort these various issues and just take it out of the rent and email a receipt. We've done this a couple of times since with minor maintenance issues... Which is fine by me but... Really!
Not a benefits issue for us because I pay the full tent BUT,
My point is, for the Housing allowance tenants who ARE good tenants, being able to pay the rent themselves is essential for dealing with landlords who refuse to act. Withholding rent until basic issues are fixed is perfectly legitimate and should always be an option.
There are obviously problem tenants but the obvious solution is to have a small team in each council who can act to decide who is "in the right" and if there is rent being withheld form the landlord and no reason for this, THEN switch payments over to the landlord directly.
Pretty simple. Give people a chance first, then take that responsibility away from them if they prove not to be worthy of it. MOST people will be totally fine.