UK renters are ‘forgotten victims’ of recession

Campaigners in the UK are demanding changes to laws that are seeing private rental tenants become the innocent victims of the credit crunch.

Increasingly, as landlords fall into arrears on their buy-to-let properties, unsuspecting tenants who are up-to-date on their rent are finding themselves homeless due the property being repossessed.  Current laws that require tenants only be given 2 weeks notice that the property is being repossessed.

Many people have no idea that the landlord has not been paying the mortgage until the bailiffs arrive.

Charities Shelter, Crisis, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the Chartered Institute of Housing are pushing for greater protection for tenants, after revealing that more and more advisors are being approached by people who have already lost their home in this way.  There have been many cases of people simply coming home to find their belongings on the street, and the locks changed.

And the problem is increasing, with an expected 8,000 buy-to-let homes potentially being repossessed in the coming year, and up to 10,000 people being made homeless as a result.

The government is planning on increasing the notice period for tenants who living in homes being repossessed to seven weeks, giving them time to better organise accommodation.

The director of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Michael Coogan, said,

“Everyone sympathises with those tenants who are paying their rent, and fulfilling their obligations, but who find that their landlord has not been paying their mortgage and not told their lender that they are renting out the property. Good tenants should not be disadvantaged, and nor should lenders, by the irresponsible behaviour of a small minority of landlords. We look forward to working with the government and advice agencies on effective measures to help the modest number of tenants affected.”

Source: bbc.co.uk, TotallyMoney.com research.