Rental tenants urged to talk to landlords if out of work
PEOPLE who rent a property who are out of work and short of cash should speak to their landlord to see if an agreement can be made about payment.
In the first instance, those whose income has been impacted by lockdown should establish if they are entitled to financial support from the States.
However, chairman of the Guernsey Landlords Association, Jeff Guilbert, recognised that there will be some people caught in a tight spot.
‘If tenants find themselves likely to be in difficulty, they should contact their landlord to warn them first,’ he said.
‘Where they are not eligible to help from the States, a bit of negotiation might have to be done, but it must be understood that if rent is suspended, it will have to be repaid down the line.’
Each situation will be different, for both tenants and landlords.
‘A landlord that has been in the industry for a long time is more likely to have some reserves to be able to negotiate a bit more leniently than one who is new to the industry and might not have the cash flow to support that,’ Mr Guilbert said.
‘At the end of the day, it is in no-one’s favour to turf someone out of their home. Not only would it leave someone in a difficult position, but it’s not good for the landlord as they would have to find someone to fill that property.’
He urged people to engage with their landlords, saying going down the court route was not desirable for anyone.
‘Most landlords are holding a deposit as well so it may be a case that that can be used to cover rent.’
Drawing on experiences from the 2020 lockdown, Mr Guilbert said long-time renters tended to be OK because they had a long-standing relationship with their landlord.
However, in houses in multiple occupation, lots of people found themselves out of a job, often not qualifying for social insurance because they had not been in the island for enough time.
‘Landlords were often carrying a considerable amount of money for that lockdown,’ Mr Guilbert said.
‘And then in HMOs where they were renting open market, they were having to pay even more so landlords again were carrying the money.’
In some very unfortunate cases, once tenants got their first pay cheque, they booked a flight and left the island, leaving the landlord with the burden of that missing rent money.
‘Landlords have outgoings themselves and with less cash coming in, cash flow can become a problem,’ he said.
‘Landlords want to make it work, and will be sympathetic to situations, but at the end of the day it’s a negotiation between two parties.’
