Tenant can't afford rent - proof?

davilown

Why is it rent priority?  If they don't pay, you can't evict them at present. Therefore it's no longer a priority.

Crashy_Time

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

Why don`t they just claim their government money and pay their rent from that, I thought B.J said the government were backstopping everyone`s wages to stop the economy collapsing?

Their employment status is unknown.
some people fall through the gaps e.g. self employed paid by dividends ( it works on paye).
in some cases employers are claiming they can’t pay wages until they get government money
could be a variety of reasons

Ah, so the government talk of "whatever it takes" etc. is just crowd/market calming talk, the reality is many people won`t get a payout?

lisyloo

Crashy_Time said:

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

Why don`t they just claim their government money and pay their rent from that, I thought B.J said the government were backstopping everyone`s wages to stop the economy collapsing?

Their employment status is unknown.
some people fall through the gaps e.g. self employed paid by dividends ( it works on paye).
in some cases employers are claiming they can’t pay wages until they get government money
could be a variety of reasons

Ah, so the government talk of "whatever it takes" etc. is just crowd/market calming talk, the reality is many people won`t get a payout?

That’s not what I said.
most will get a payout, maybe delayed in some cases.
 but we don’t know the situation of this couple
you can’t assume this couple will get a payout as their situation is unknown

they might have fallen on hard times, they might fall between the cracks, they might be lying, we just don’t know

Crashy_Time

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

Why don`t they just claim their government money and pay their rent from that, I thought B.J said the government were backstopping everyone`s wages to stop the economy collapsing?

Their employment status is unknown.
some people fall through the gaps e.g. self employed paid by dividends ( it works on paye).
in some cases employers are claiming they can’t pay wages until they get government money
could be a variety of reasons

Ah, so the government talk of "whatever it takes" etc. is just crowd/market calming talk, the reality is many people won`t get a payout?

That’s not what I said.
most will get a payout, maybe delayed in some cases.
 but we don’t know the situation of this couple
you can’t assume this couple will get a payout as their situation is unknown

they might have fallen on hard times, they might fall between the cracks, they might be lying, we just don’t know

 Thought we knew that they were care home workers, one a manager and the other a care assistant? Surely if anyone should have their wages backstopped they should?

Comms69

General_Grant said:

afis1904 said:

General_Grant said:

Comms69 said:

holschubes said:

We received a text message last night from our tenants simply saying that due to covid19 they can not afford to pay the full rental amount and can only pay half....as landlords are we able to ask for proof of this? Last year we knew that the tenants were employed as a Care Home Manager and a Care Assistant, we had learnt that the care home they both worked in had been shut down but we did not question our tenants as we decided as long as the rent was still being paid then that was all that mattered, so currently we do not know what their employment status is or where they work, but they have had no problem paying the rent up until now. The government are helping people and with furlough are paying 80% of peoples wages, am I correct in thinking this? Surely as landlords we have a right to ask our tennnts for proof of why they can't pay the full rent. Our first question back to them was "Have you lost your jobs?" and are yet to reply. It's a stressful time for everyone and as landlords we are very understanding of the current situation but where does it leave us. I know we can ask for a mortgage holiday period but still, I would like proof of why they can't pay.
Many thanks.

You can ask, but they arent obliged to provide it. You arent obliged to agree, but ultimately your method of enforcement isnt available at the moment.

Whilst you may not have meant it this way, what do you mean you didnt question your tenants when the care home closed? Were you going to offer to help? Because the alternative is that you feel that you are entitled to be involved in their lives? You have no right to know where they work or what they do.

The 80% is not as simple as that. Ultimately you have no say in this. Accept the rent will be halves and move on.

If they were new tenants I'd certainly want to know where they work and obtain references.  I think I would have the right to ask and if they didn't provide the information I would have the right not to let the accommodation.

You don't have a right to know where they work whatsoever as long as they can show that they can pay the rent.

I said a right to ASK.

and i said "you can ask", but that's about it

Comms69

Crashy_Time said:

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

Why don`t they just claim their government money and pay their rent from that, I thought B.J said the government were backstopping everyone`s wages to stop the economy collapsing?

Their employment status is unknown.
some people fall through the gaps e.g. self employed paid by dividends ( it works on paye).
in some cases employers are claiming they can’t pay wages until they get government money
could be a variety of reasons

Ah, so the government talk of "whatever it takes" etc. is just crowd/market calming talk, the reality is many people won`t get a payout?

That’s not what I said.
most will get a payout, maybe delayed in some cases.
 but we don’t know the situation of this couple
you can’t assume this couple will get a payout as their situation is unknown

they might have fallen on hard times, they might fall between the cracks, they might be lying, we just don’t know

 Thought we knew that they were care home workers, one a manager and the other a care assistant? Surely if anyone should have their wages backstopped they should?

Not that simple. if they werent employed at the time, they would be entitled to benefits, instead of backstopped wages

lisyloo

Crashy_Time said:

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

lisyloo said:

Crashy_Time said:

Why don`t they just claim their government money and pay their rent from that, I thought B.J said the government were backstopping everyone`s wages to stop the economy collapsing?

Their employment status is unknown.
some people fall through the gaps e.g. self employed paid by dividends ( it works on paye).
in some cases employers are claiming they can’t pay wages until they get government money
could be a variety of reasons

Ah, so the government talk of "whatever it takes" etc. is just crowd/market calming talk, the reality is many people won`t get a payout?

That’s not what I said.
most will get a payout, maybe delayed in some cases.
 but we don’t know the situation of this couple
you can’t assume this couple will get a payout as their situation is unknown

they might have fallen on hard times, they might fall between the cracks, they might be lying, we just don’t know

 Thought we knew that they were care home workers, one a manager and the other a care assistant? Surely if anyone should have their wages backstopped they should?

The lost those jobs last year.
some careers are self employed. The self employed are backstopped on PAYE.
some self employed pay themselves min income (around £8k) to get NI credits but pay no NI and income tax. Those people would only be backstopped to 80% of £8k.
some people fall through the cracks of these schemes (and cynically one could say that’s designed that way)
but again - we don’t know their particular situation.

BrassicWoman

wages are only backstopped for companies in difficulty. that won't be the care sector. tourism, travel, yes. core services, no.

wesleyad

The rent will still be payable at a later date. It's not a reduced rent, it's an agreement to put off full rent until a later date, preferably with an agreed payment plan. So really you are not losing out (unless they don't stick to the plan, but then you 're not really in a worse position than now).
Check out the guidance here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities

lisyloo

wesleyad said:

The rent will still be payable at a later date. It's not a reduced rent, it's an agreement to put off full rent until a later date, preferably with an agreed payment plan. So really you are not losing out (unless they don't stick to the plan, but then you 're not really in a worse position than now).
Check out the guidance here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities

There’s a difference between liability and ability to pay. There’s is no way to get money from people who genuinely don’t have it.