[Kizzy]

I thought we were discussing private landlords? And that's not always the case tenants have taken local councils to court for disrepair cases.

[the truth]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

I thought we were discussing private landlords? And that's not always the case tenants have taken local councils to court for disrepair cases.

we were discussing landlords who get paid housing benefits....whenever a landlord gets housing benefits he/she is answerable to the local council who can fine enormous sums and demand repairs are made

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by the truth

we were discussing landlords who get paid housing benefits....whenever a landlord gets housing benefits he/she is answerable to the local council who can fine enormous sums and demand repairs are made

So how are people living in squalor then if there are so many safeguards in place?

[the truth]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

So how are people living in squalor then if there are so many safeguards in place?

1) perhaps some of housing benefits don't know the ropes about how to complain to the council
2) the rent is paid to the tenants in many cases , they steal it spend it on booze drugs cigarettes , the landlord gets furious and refuses to spend any money on the property due to the theft, the communication breaks down totally and the house starts to fall apart etc etc

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

So how are people living in squalor then if there are so many safeguards in place?

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.

[the truth]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

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.

u pay out of your own pocket and you don't rate the way the landlord runs it, leave

if youre ever on housing benefits and the landlords doing a lousy job, ring the housing benefits and get a housing officer out, he will crucify the landlord

[user104658]

Originally Posted by the truth

u pay out of your own pocket and you don't rate the way the landlord runs it, leave

"Leave"? In the middle of a two year lease? With two young children? And go... Where? The options available for rent in my village currently, for example, are a couple of tiny one bed flats, and a 5 bed detached house at a cost of nearly £2000pcm.

Like I said, withholding rent is a perfectly legitimate thing to do if the landlord isn't meeting basic maintenance or safety requirements. In my opinion, it is a vital tool for genuine tenants and pretty much the only leverage they have. I don't really understand why you would have a problem with my suggestion. With "my" system, if you have housing allowance tenants who aren't paying up, then the landlord gets the council out, and if the tenants don't have a good reason to be withholding it then they take the landlords bank details and switch the payments straight over. Simple, easy and fair!

Mandatory direct payments to the landlord would be a pain in the arse for many landlords. Housing allowance isn't a "you get it or you dont" benefit - many people in work get partial payments that cover a portion of rent and they cover the rest themselves. What then? The landlord gets part of it from the council and the other half from the tenant in two separate payments? That sounds like a needless hassle when most tenants are more than capable of sorting out the payment themselves. Just because you personally have had bad experiences with a few tenants does not justify changing the system for everyone.

Interview prospective tenants, get references from previous landlords if possible, and make better choices regarding who you allow to live in your properties.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

"Leave"? In the middle of a two year lease? With two young children? And go... Where? The options available for rent in my village currently, for example, are a couple of tiny one bed flats, and a 5 bed detached house at a cost of nearly £2000pcm.

Like I said, withholding rent is a perfectly legitimate thing to do if the landlord isn't meeting basic maintenance or safety requirements. In my opinion, it is a vital tool for genuine tenants and pretty much the only leverage they have. I don't really understand why you would have a problem with my suggestion. With "my" system, if you have housing allowance tenants who aren't paying up, then the landlord gets the council out, and if the tenants don't have a good reason to be withholding it then they take the landlords bank details and switch the payments straight over. Simple, easy and fair!

Mandatory direct payments to the landlord would be a pain in the arse for many landlords. Housing allowance isn't a "you get it or you dont" benefit - many people in work get partial payments that cover a portion of rent and they cover the rest themselves. What then? The landlord gets part of it from the council and the other half from the tenant in two separate payments? That sounds like a needless hassle when most tenants are more than capable of sorting out the payment themselves. Just because you personally have had bad experiences with a few tenants does not justify changing the system for everyone.

Interview prospective tenants, get references from previous landlords if possible, and make better choices regarding who you allow to live in your properties.

I've said this before, but your landlord sounds like a ****.

They have schemes where tenants can buy a percentage of their homes and pay rent on the rest retained by the Housing Association, which then allows the tenant to buy the rest of the freehold/leasehold once their income/circumstances allow, so I think it's high time that SOME government extended this scheme across the whole housing market.

Good tenants are to be prized and it stinks that hard working decent tenants cannot have the hope of one day owning the house which is their home.

As long as a fair market value is ascertained and agreed upon, I cannot envisage any problems.

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

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.

This is already in place..at least round here. If you have past problems with rent arrears/large debts, or are, for example a drug addict, the council pays the rent direct to the landlord instead of you. Not sure if this is implemented anywhere else mind but both durham and gateshead councils do this. So the only way round here to get once of these nightmare tenants on benefits that from reading truths posts, seem to be very very common...is for them to have had no issues paying rent wherever they lived previously, and all of a sudden decide to start stealing housing benefit money instead of paying rent...

Also when applying for HB, you get an option to get it paid to the landlord if they insist on it. However you have to sign a form saying you have problems controlling money, even if its not true :S