Folkestone & Hythe District Council encourage profiteering from homelessness
We have been informed by a growing regiment of tenants that landlords have issued them eviction notices but, bewilderingly, they don’t actually want to evict the tenants. Instead the landlords informed the tenants to, “go to the council, get them to pay me the incentive and you can stay”. We are not talking one or two landlords, and we are not just talking about landlords in our district, this seems to be going on across various parts of Kent. Such behaviour by landlords is unscrupulous and potentially fraudulent.
Folkestone & Hythe District Council offer landlords £1,000 for a 6 month tenancy, £1,500 for a 12 month tenancy or £2,000 for a 24 month tenancy to incentivise them to rent out their properties.
Landlord incentives are essentially a bribe our council pay private landlords to persuade them to house homeless families or individuals across our district. They are used to either keep tenants at risk of being homeless in their current property, or help ease the process of finding a new place to live. This practice is widely known of within the housing sector, yet is almost unheard of elsewhere.
The Council’s Property Solutions incentives come in two free options for landlords:
Option 1
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An incentive payment of £1,000 for a 6 month tenancy, £1,500 for a 12 month tenancy or £2,000 for a 24 month tenancy
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One month’s rent in advance
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A deposit bond to cover damages equal to one month rent
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If our tenant has left your property, Folkestone & Hythe District Council will guarantee your rent for a maximum of two weeks or until we find you an alternative tenant (whichever is the lesser)
Option 2
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Reimbursement of the cost of a gas safety certificate and an electrical safety certificate
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One month rent in advance
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Bond agreement to cover damages equal to one month rent
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Bond agreement to cover rent arrears equal to one month rent
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If our tenant has left your property, Folkestone & Hythe District Council will guarantee your rent for a maximum of two weeks or until we find you an alternative tenant (whichever is the lesser)
As a former Council employee who lost there job, I find it disturbing to discover they are paying thousands to landlords, yet were not willing to keep excellent staff in position. Vote out the Tories on May 2nd.
What to say? Disgusting behaviour regarding private landlords, my question is, if I buy a house in Folkestone and let the local council put homeless people in it, will they pay me the rent? Or will the tenant pay me?