1 million additional renter's to be made homeless(evicted)?

noitsnotme

There is a somewhat child-like mentally being displayed here, in the hope that repeating their wishes will somehow make it true.  It’s a bit like that scene in Peter Pan… “I do believe in fairies… I do believe in fairies”.

In the real world, court is already available to tenants so that’s nothing new, the ombudsman won’t change that.

Landlords will only pay a small joining fee to sign up to the ombudsman.  After that it’s also free for the landlords when tenants report issues, there will no additional fees for a landlord to pay each time a tenant reports something. That seems to be the imaginary silver bullet someone is hoping will cost the landlords every time.

The tenant will also have to prove they have exhausted all attempts of resolution with the landlord first.  If they can’t prove that, the ombudsman won’t help them.

The ombudsman won’t get involved in rent disputes, that will remain with the courts so no different to now.

The fines are up to £25000 and will be reserved for landlords who refuse to act.  The vast majority of cases dealt with by the ombudsman will lead to zero fines being imposed.

All this is based on reading the actual documentation released by the government.  Not just based on my hopes and dreams.  But then again Charlie didn’t say this so I must be wrong.

jimbog

[DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

Sorry, that's not true either:

Once section 21 is abolished, we need to ensure tenants do not face backdoor evictions, including through egregious rent rises designed to force them out. Nothing, however, in the Bill restricts landlords from raising rents to market value during a tenancy.

On your second point:

Tenants who receive a rent increase that they feel is not representative of the market value will be able to challenge the increase in the First-tier Tribunal. We will issue guidance on this process to ensure that it is clear for everyone. As now, landlords will be allowed to increase rents to market price for their properties

You can read about the Bill here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tenancy-reform-renters-reform-bill

ProDave

So how will the ombudsman deal with "tenant lifestyle induced condensation and mould"?

Example, a flat we previously had as a rental.  No problem with condensation or mould.  UNTIL one particular tenant moved in.  When I went to investigate, the walls were wet with condensation. The flat was cold, the heating was off. All window vents shut, bathroom fan turned off (that's when I learned NEVER have a fan isolator switch in a rental) and wet washing hanging in most rooms.

After that tenant left, no other tenant afterwards had condensation or mould problems because they heated the flat and ventilated it.

Simonon77

I agree, I imagine the bad landlords will put things off as long as possible, the ombudsmen will tell them 'fix it in 30 days or we will fine you'  and then the landlord will do a bodge job enough to keep them happy.

If anyone here has ever tried contacting an ombudsman about a problem they will know that 99% of the time they are completely useless and just send stock replies saying 'sorry we suggest you take it up with the person you have the problem with'

Yellowsub2000

ProDave said:

So how will the ombudsman deal with "tenant lifestyle induced condensation and mould"?

Example, a flat we previously had as a rental.  No problem with condensation or mould.  UNTIL one particular tenant moved in.  When I went to investigate, the walls were wet with condensation. The flat was cold, the heating was off. All window vents shut, bathroom fan turned off (that's when I learned NEVER have a fan isolator switch in a rental) and wet washing hanging in most rooms.

After that tenant left, no other tenant afterwards had condensation or mould problems because they heated the flat and ventilated it.

This is a good question and the same with pest problems.

The tenants will send pictures and make a case and the LL will claim it’s the tenants fault not theirs. The advantages are on the tenants side because they could refuse entry to the LL so will be able to provide better evidence.

It remains to be seen how this ombudsman system will work.  

Yellowsub2000

Simonon77 said:

I agree, I imagine the bad landlords will put things off as long as possible, the ombudsmen will tell them 'fix it in 30 days or we will fine you'  and then the landlord will do a bodge job enough to keep them happy.

If anyone here has ever tried contacting an ombudsman about a problem they will know that 99% of the time they are completely useless and just send stock replies saying 'sorry we suggest you take it up with the person you have the problem with'

If they do a bodge job then the tenant can provide evidence of this and if it goes to court can use this to make the case the rents should not go up as much as similar properties 

noitsnotme

There is already a property ombudsman that’s been running for years that covers letting agents.  You’d think there would already be far less problems in the letting world thanks to TPO but we’re always hearing about problems with letting agents here.  I doubt the new one ombudsman will be much different.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/how_to_challenge_dss_discrimination/make_a_complaint_to_the_property_ombudsman

3 months to review a complaint, ouch!  Imagine how long people will be waiting on the new ombudsman with every tenant complaining about something every week!

MultiFuelBurner

It is certainly a step to potentially higher rents for tenants.

Before this legislation we would not put rents up to the maximum allowed. But now we will consider this on how the rent reform affects our business model and bottom line.

jimbog

Yellowsub2000 said:

You make it sound like the responsibility is on the tenants when you say “The tenant will also have to prove they have exhausted all attempts of resolution with the landlord first.  If they can’t prove that, the ombudsman won’t help them.”

This the most ridiculous statement ever, the truth is the exact opposite.

Sorry to disappoint.

How will a tenant challenge their landlord using the Ombudsman and what powers will the Ombudsman have to help tenants resolve their complaints?

• Tenants will usually be expected to raise any complaint with their landlord in the first instance, giving them reasonable time to correct an issue or concern.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/private-rented-sector-ombudsman-renters-reform-bill

Linton

If all these landlords stop letting what will happen to the houses?  Surely they wont be sitting there empty. If they arent sold on to other more professional landlords presumably they will be bought by  people who would previously have rented resulting in fewer renters.

The key point is that the number of families renting + the number of owner occupiers matches the amount of accommodation available.  Market prices adjust to ensure this balance is maintained.