Welcome to our Newsround where we look into what has been in the housing news this week.
We start off with some rather disconcerting news regarding bailiffs and the courts.
Evictions ‘on hold’ over bailiff crisis
Initially, it was just London that was facing long waits for bailiffs but now this is spreading to other parts of the UK.
Bailiffs have all but suspended their work for the ‘foreseeable future’ due to concerns with their Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) prior to carrying out an eviction.
Furthermore, the number of bailiffs employed by the courts has been slowly declining. One county court bailiff currently covers four courts.
Some reports say that the bailiff shortage is also down to a lack of investment within the court system, but either way, this means that landlords are now in effect ‘in limbo’ and face waiting a longer time to get their properties back. And in the meantime still receiving no rent.
Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action says
This is just the beginning and without intervention the problem is going to get worse and worse. The historic lack of investment in the courts is now being compounded by changes in regulations and rising interest rates, sparking landlord panic to exit the rental market.
This is before Section 21 is abolished and more eviction cases end up in the courts.
Landlord Action is calling for serious rent arrears and eviction cases to be taken up to the High Court. Landlords are waiting up to six months to get to the point of eviction and then are hit with further delays.
One landlord has a tenant in £20,942 arrears, and the eviction date has been pushed back beyond August.
Daren Cox, Chief Executive of High Court Writ Recovery, reports that the number of County Court bailiffs has been decreasing and says
The bailiffs simply don’t have the time to wait, so if there is a problem on the eviction day, they are moving on after 10-15 minutes leaving cases unresolved. The current wait time for possession in some cases is 37 weeks from claim to possession – that’s nine months and simply isn’t acceptable.
Judges should be granting permission to transfer up to the High Court as a matter of course, given the current circumstances. Even High Court Enforcement Officers are in short supply after 40 per cent left the industry during Covid and have not returned.
Not good news at all for landlords, and we stay with ‘bailiffs’ for our next news article but for a different reason.
‘Fake bailiffs’ are really security guards
It has been reported that rogue landlords are using security guards dressed to look like court bailiffs and tricking vulnerable tenants out of their homes.
Ben Reeves co-founder of Safer Renting, says
We’ve seen a spate of cases this year where landlords have used uniformed security guards to give the impression of a court-sanctioned eviction. In the past, criminal landlords may have sent heavies to throw tenants out, but this is the first time in 33 years of working in the private-rented sector that I’ve seen fake bailiffs kitted out with stab vests, radios and handcuffs. Some of them even have vans with police-like livery on the side.
Such rogue bailiffs evicted a woman and autistic son despite her having a tenancy agreement, who are now in temporary accommodation. And this case is not alone, says Ben.
Landlords can face penalty fines of up to £30,000 for carrying out illegal evictions, but these cases are increasing, and we could see them escalate further with the court bailiff crisis growing.
But if people cannot get justice through the court system, many will see no alternative but to use self-help. For the rule of law to be maintained and respected, it is important that it ‘works’.
Do rent controls loom for Welsh landlords?
The Welsh Government has announced the launch of a Green Paper consultation where they are keen to gain people’s experiences of renting, its costs and affordability and with the view to potentially imposing rent control measures across Wales.
Ben Beadle from the NLRA has spoken out and said
Let’s be clear, rent controls would serve only to decimate the sector further and would be a disaster for tenants, when so many are already struggling to find a place to rent.
The Minister herself diagnosed the issues when she rightly rejected calls for a rent freeze before Christmas. The same reasons apply now.
He further adds the way forward is for the Welsh government is to introduce pro-growth measures that will boost the housing supply and reduce rents. He urges Welsh landlords to get involved now before it is too late. Landlords can submit their views online.
BTL landlords hit out at unfair press
81% of BTL landlords say they feel ‘demonised’ and are ‘not recognised’ for the important role they play within the renting sector. They are often quoted as being ‘greedy’ and are to blame for the lack of rental properties out there, when, in fact they claim that it is the government that should be blamed for the lack of social housing that they have not been building over the years.
One such landlord says
The PRS provides much needed homes that are not being built by councils. I am a good landlord but I am fed up with being portrayed as someone who has plenty of money and is profiteering off tenants. What would happen if most landlords sold their properties?
Paul Brett, who carried out the study says
The government must champion those good quality landlords and work with the sector, rather than against it. This will hopefully bring a more balanced approach to the national news agenda and relieve some of the pressure felt by honest and hard working landlords across the country.
Snippets
Police warn about surge in cannabis farms at rental properties
NEW: ‘Landlords who make sex for rent demands should be banned for life’
Police warn about surge in cannabis farms at rental properties
Airbnb links with neighbourhood Watch to deter bad tenants
Rent controls ‘would be a disaster for tenants’
Newsround will be back next week.