Private landlords are supporting calls by MPs on Parliament’s Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee to boost the financial support available to tenants during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Responding to the Committee’s calls for the Local Housing Allowance to be set at a rate that reflects real market rents, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said:

“Our research shows that the vast majority of landlords approached for help by tenants struggling as a result of coronavirus are responding positively.

“We want to see that continue to ensure tenancies can be sustained.

“We have long called for benefits to cover rents which would be by far best option for tenants and landlords alike.”

Responding to the Committee’s recommendations to the procedures around property repossessions, Beadle said:

“We support the Government’s efforts to ensure that landlords and tenants seek first to reach a mutually agreeable solution where rent arrears have built up as a result of coronavirus.

“These ‘pre-action protocols’ balance the needs of landlords and tenants and contain genuine, compelling sanctions to ensure good practice.

“The NRLA will continue to work with the Government to ensure that its plans are meaningful and workable for both tenants and landlords.”