Most buy-to-let lenders refuse loans when tenants are on benefits

[mercalia]

Most buy-to-let lenders refuse loans when tenants are on benefits
Landlords association tells government to persuade banks to end practice by lenders representing 90% of market

Disgusting. Those receiving housing benefit or the Universal Credit version have it really stacked up against them and this practice should be made illegal?

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/oct/21/buy-to-let-90-percent-of-lenders-refuse-loans-to-benefit-claimants

Please sign the petition
The petition -
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/230012/signatures/new

[francovendee]

I agree, it's another slap at people on benefits but it is likely based on experience.
Tenants on benefits are more likely to fall behind with the rent.
In my opinion, it was a huge mistake when the government changed the way help with rent got paid. The argument that giving it to the recipient, rather than the landlord, would 'teach' financial responsibility and remove the indignity just doesn't work.
Landlords would be much keener to let to people on benefits if they knew the money came direct to them and not the tenant.
The real problem is that the UK lacks any available social housing. A fault of successive governments of both parties to build enough council homes.

[pete75]

I agree, it's another slap at people on benefits but it is likely based on experience.
Tenants on benefits are more likely to fall behind with the rent.
In my opinion, it was a huge mistake when the government changed the way help with rent got paid. The argument that giving it to the recipient, rather than the landlord, would 'teach' financial responsibility and remove the indignity just doesn't work.
Landlords would be much keener to let to people on benefits if they knew the money came direct to them and not the tenant.
The real problem is that the UK lacks any available social housing. A fault of successive governments of both parties to build enough council homes.

Yes. Time was when benefits tenants were the most reliably rent wise as the council paid their HB direct to the landlord.

[thirdcrank]

I'm not so sure that this all what it seems. The buy-to-let market has grown rapidly, so much so that the government has introduced policies to curtail it. Since the crash of 2008 lenders have become ultra cautious about mortgage lending.

This sounds to me like a PR exercise by the landlords' trade body and not much really about people on benefits, who might be better served by policies allowing more municipal social housing.

[Psamathe]

......
The real problem is that the UK lacks any available social housing. A fault of successive governments of both parties to build enough council homes.

Or that when they are built Councils are forced to sell them off at discounted prices. Cynic in me sees the same happening again now the Councils are being allowed to borrow to build more houses, once built another Conservative Government will just force them to be sold off at discounted prices.

Ian

[PH]

It isn’t about who the benefits are paid too, but the shortfall. Housings benefit has been reaplaced with something that in many cases is capped at an amount below the rent. The tenant has to make up the difference and in many cases simply can’t.

[mercalia]

I'm not so sure that this all what it seems. The buy-to-let market has grown rapidly, so much so that the government has introduced policies to curtail it. Since the crash of 2008 lenders have become ultra cautious about mortgage lending.

This sounds to me like a PR exercise by the landlords' trade body and not much really about people on benefits, who might be better served by policies allowing more municipal social housing.

if you look it was started by a landlord who was looking for a mortgage and was refused (so looked elsewhere),the landlords only option with that lender was to evict the reliable old lady tenant, which he/she refused to do. So not a pr exercise for landlords.

[Psamathe]

I wonder if there are two issues and if it is more complex

Banks are commercial "for profit" organisations and have received a lot of criticism for lending to borrowers whose abilities to repay are "precarious".

I understand that some buy-to-let landlords need the rent payments to pay the mortgage payments - arrears in rent -> arrears in mortgage payment.

Under those circumstances the bank has to assess the risks of a borrower being unable to adequately maintain their mortgage payments and make a real world assessment.

It should not be for the banks to make decisions or take losses because "it is for the good of society". If we want them to do that, tax them more (where Gov. can spend increased income best). Forcing banks to lend where they assess the ability of the borrower to repay is "uncertain" takes us down a road we have been down and are still paying for.

Ignoring the amounts (which I am in no position to comment on),where there are emotive reasons about people "managing their own finances" there are always going to be some better than others at achieving this. Why not have a system where the tenant on benefits can opt to have their rent paid government direct to landlord? This would give the landlord better security but it is still the choice of the recipient as to how the rent part of their benefits are handled. In effect it would introduce two "categories" of tenant on benefits but I remember a month or so ago a report where the rent areas in some areas have accumulated to a quite horrific levels (might have been a report about the situation in Scotland?).

And, above is my initial thoughts on a situation I'm not that familar with so welcome others telling me I'm wrong and that I've failed to consider aspects.

Ian

[Vorpal]

I agree, it's another slap at people on benefits but it is likely based on experience.
Tenants on benefits are more likely to fall behind with the rent.
In my opinion, it was a huge mistake when the government changed the way help with rent got paid. The argument that giving it to the recipient, rather than the landlord, would 'teach' financial responsibility and remove the indignity just doesn't work.
Landlords would be much keener to let to people on benefits if they knew the money came direct to them and not the tenant.
The real problem is that the UK lacks any available social housing. A fault of successive governments of both parties to build enough council homes.

Tenants on benefits aren't more likely to fall behind. The system is set up to pay in arrears. This means that tenants receiving housing benefits are disadvantaged compared with other tenants. In some areas, landlords can still receive payments directly, but that isnæt necessarily helpful if the problem is when they get paid.

Buy-to-let mortgages are also a problem, in providing access to housing because, as posted, some lenders will not permit renting to tenants on benefits. Besides the article linked above, the Guardian also has a summary of the reasons landlords don't wnat to rent to tenants on benefits https://www.theguardian.com/housing-net ... -landlords

But yes, the UK has also lagged in construction of new social housing.

[landsurfer]

Here in Rotherham the social housing shortage is due to the large immigrant community, not a lack of built environment.
Whole areas of the town including the centre and Eastwood, known locally as eastwoodistan, are over 90% immigrant populated.
However much or little the council build the immigrsnt community will mop it up.
For many immigrant families the anchor baby is in place and the housing problem continues.

[mercalia]

Here in Rotherham the social housing shortage is due to the large immigrant community, not a lack of built environment.
Whole areas of the town including the centre and Eastwood, known locally as eastwoodistan, are over 90% immigrant populated.
However much or little the council build the immigrsnt community will mop it up.
For many immigrant families the anchor baby is in place and the housing problem continues.

which is why so many people voted for Brexit? Recent articles and commentarys on the effects of immigration even from the Guardian interpreted the effect of immigration merely as a demographic change eg seeing Polish shops open up, totally ignoring that many of the poor eastern europeans brought their families and jumped to the front of the housing list in front of native residents. And this is Blairs fault who let them all in before he had to, when other countries didnt?

[francovendee]

Here in Rotherham the social housing shortage is due to the large immigrant community, not a lack of built environment.
Whole areas of the town including the centre and Eastwood, known locally as eastwoodistan, are over 90% immigrant populated.
However much or little the council build the immigrsnt community will mop it up.
For many immigrant families the anchor baby is in place and the housing problem continues.

which is why so many people voted for Brexit? Recent articles and commentarys on the effects of immigration even from the Guardian interpreted the effect of immigration merely as a demographic change eg seeing Polish shops open up, totally ignoring that many of the poor eastern europeans brought their families and jumped to the front of the housing list in front of native residents. And this is Blairs fault who let them all in before he had to, when other countries didnt?

Interestingly the immigrant population of Rotherham is largely made up of people of Asian origin. Not quite sure how voting leave will have any effect on reducing immigration there.
The Government has stated it wants to allow more people in, other than EU citizens, This could mean a rise in people from Asia if they fit the criteria.

[reohn2]

Here in Rotherham the social housing shortage is due to the large immigrant community, not a lack of built environment.
Whole areas of the town including the centre and Eastwood, known locally as eastwoodistan, are over 90% immigrant populated.
However much or little the council build the immigrsnt community will mop it up.
For many immigrant families the anchor baby is in place and the housing problem continues.

which is why so many people voted for Brexit? Recent articles and commentarys on the effects of immigration even from the Guardian interpreted the effect of immigration merely as a demographic change eg seeing Polish shops open up, totally ignoring that many of the poor eastern europeans brought their families and jumped to the front of the housing list in front of native residents. And this is Blairs fault who let them all in before he had to, when other countries didnt?

Why did these oh so unworthy immigrants come here?
Was it to work per chance?
Just listened to a program on R4 about the UK vineyards,Labour and brexit came up and the vineyard owners were concerned about how they might get their crop in without an immigrant workforce.It's the same in most farming areas where the crop needs harvesting by hand.
And I'd need to see some proof of immigrants jumping housing queues.

[Psamathe]

Here in Rotherham the social housing shortage is due to the large immigrant community, not a lack of built environment.
Whole areas of the town including the centre and Eastwood, known locally as eastwoodistan, are over 90% immigrant populated.
However much or little the council build the immigrsnt community will mop it up.
For many immigrant families the anchor baby is in place and the housing problem continues.

which is why so many people voted for Brexit? Recent articles and commentarys on the effects of immigration even from the Guardian interpreted the effect of immigration merely as a demographic change eg seeing Polish shops open up, totally ignoring that many of the poor eastern europeans brought their families and jumped to the front of the housing list in front of native residents. And this is Blairs fault who let them all in before he had to, when other countries didnt?

Why did these oh so unworthy immigrants come here?
Was it to work per chance?
Just listened to a program on R4 about the UK vineyards,Labour and brexit came up and the vineyard owners were concerned about how they might get their crop in without an immigrant workforce.It's the same in most farming areas where the crop needs harvesting by hand.

From Feb this year

Lack of migrant workers left food rotting in UK fields last year, data reveals
...
Fruit and vegetable farms across the UK were left short of thousands of migrant workers in 2017, leaving some produce to rot in the fields and farmers suffering big losses.

More than 4,300 vacancies went unfilled, according to new survey data from the National Farmers Union (NFU), which covers about half the horticultural labour market. The survey, seen exclusively by the Guardian, shows more than 99% of the seasonal workers recruited came from eastern Europe, with just 0.6% from the UK.

Since the vote to leave the European Union in 2016, growers have warned repeatedly of damaging labour shortages, with recruiters reporting that Brexit has created the perception among foreign workers that the UK is xenophobic and racist.
....

Ian

[landsurfer]

Rotherham South Yorkshire ... not exactly renowned for it's vineyards and fruit picking industries ...