Shelter boss says landlords and letting agencies are exploiting crisis to become ‘homeless tycoons’

Shelter has attacked businesses including landlords and letting agencies for turning homelessness into big business.

Shelter boss Polly Neate said in The Times yesterday that more than 86,000 households in England are living in temporary accommodation, costing councils over a billion pounds.

She said: “We’re in the middle of a housing emergency: soaring rents, deep housing benefit cuts, no-fault evictions and behind it all a chronic shortage of social housing.”

She said local councils legally have to help and have to find “somewhere, anywhere, for them to go”.

Neate went on: “Step forward the homeless tycoons.”

She attacked providers of “social housing solutions” that are nothing of the sort.

Neate particularly criticised developers who exploit permitted development rights to convert former office buildings into a warren of tiny units.

She said: “The result is human warehouses on remote industrial estates where children have nowhere to play but a car park and share one cramped room with their parents.

“In many cases the so-called providers have no accommodation of their own. They are in effect letting agents, enticing private landlords away from direct lets with offers of guaranteed rents and maximised revenue.

“These units are offered to councils at extortionate rates.

“And so the housing crisis is monetised: public money pays for landlords’ and agency directors’ mansions and pools, while families raise their children in grimy, shoebox rooms.”

Her article in The Times has had a range of comments including one which says: “Charities and their senior staff too are big business.”

Another says: “Polly is on £122,500 a year! It’s a tough job helping the homeless but I’m glad she has made the sacrifice.”

Neate’s article follows a joint investigation between Shelter and Panorama, resulting in this week’s TV programme.

It said that almost 90% of the £1.1bn spent on temporary accommodation went to private companies last year.

According to Inside Housing magazine, 18 of the top 25 temporary accommodation providers receiving the most money were “private letting agents”.

It said that one, Finefair Consultancy, received £15.4m from nine local authorities, receiving the most money in 2018/19.

The firm is London-based and according to its website offers guaranteed rent schemes and property management, and belongs to The Property Ombudsman scheme.

Inside Housing also named housing associations as being on the list in addition to private companies.

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29 Comments

  1. Jrsteeve

    What’s your annual salary, Polly?

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    1. Will2

      The article suggested £122,500 pa.

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      1. Jrsteeve

        Indeed. Such massive earnings off the back of people struggling with their housing situation. I don’t know how she sleeps at night. 
        Me however, as a decent agent sleep very well in the knowledge that my firm acts promptly to resolve faults in our managed properties and help to provide good quality homes. Polly, can you say the same? 

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        1. Will2

          Absolutely correct as do MOST landlords and agents. 

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        2. catdog

          Spot on, also Polly remember when we said things like S24 and tenant fees bans that your “charity” campaigned for would increase rents?  Now you are moaning that rents are too high.

          How many landlords have a profit of £122,500?

          Disgusting vile woman who begrudges anyone making money off providing homes yet creams a massive salary off a charity.  Pot… Kettle… Black?

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  2. office@antonyrichards.co.uk

    How many homeless does Shelter give shelter to?  I ask many times but they never respond. Why? Too busy attacking the good guys. Shelter has £millions in the bank but does nothing except be a pressure group.
    Initially a good service but has totally lost focus.

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    1. PeeBee

      Shelter does not provide shelter.

      It provides “awareness” as to the plight of the homeless.

      Unfortunately, those that desperately need the former are already fully aware of the latter – and find no comfort, warmth or protection from the elements that real “shelter” would give them.

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    2. wilberforce80

      Their last published accounts that I saw put that figure at £15m in the bank and asking for charitable donations.

       

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  3. Typhoon

    She needs a reality check. Without landlords and letting agents there would be nothing for anyone to rent.

    Most agents and landlords are honest good people who through their skills and commitment to the industry provide housing for millions

    Work with the industry Shelter, don’t condemn it. It’s not agents or landlords responsibility that so many people struggle.

     

     

     

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  4. Will2

    Shelter is the master of manipulation. The panorama program demonstrated this with neate only mentioning the gross income of a company who claim their profit is only 2%.   Perhaps she should start a new children’s tv program “Shout with Shelter”. Polly parrot just repeats her anti landlord rhetoric ad nauseam. She does nothing to provide housing only criticise those who do.

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  5. frostieclaret87

    There we go again. Shelter is nothing but a political organisation masquerading as a charity. It has no shelters, no hostels, no social housing. It’s a Corbynist lobby group that itself exploits the problem of homelessness to cynically pursue its anti capitalist agenda. ****** disgrace!

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  6. Eyereaderturnedposter12

    I may be missing something here, however I will try to understand…

    Shelter, on the one hand constantly states that there is insufficient housing to overcome the “current crisis” (not that I am entirely convinced that “crisis” is the correct term)…then the on the other hand, they seem to slate anyone and everyone who owns/is involved with housing in the Private Sector.

    Tell us Ms Neate, if your goal of demonising the PRS is sufficiently successful to drive out a large proportion of suppliers of property to the PRS…what is your plan then? This, in my view, is a perfectly legitimate question…do you have any idea at all?

    From the veranda of my 25 bedroom mansion, overlooking an ‘infinity’ pool and beyond, to my plantation…all I can smell from Shelter’s direction, is propagandist bullsh*t…

    Shelter…you should be utterly ashamed to disseminate such rubbish, all the while accepting handsome paychecks and providing NOTHING in the way of housing…to anyone.

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  7. Hillofwad71

    Here is a classic case

     

    Site owned by LBTH  in Bethnal Green sold unconditionally by tender with a planning brief .Redundant LEB office building on 0.94 acres  Bought by Telford Homes in Feb 2017 for a whacking  £30.2M

     

    In theory that should have bought the good people of LBTH a lot of social housing but LBTH used it to purchase their vain glorious Council Offices

    Meanwhile TH having spent a of  7 figure sum in planning crossing all the Ts and dotting the Is with a plethora of expensive consultants The application got turned down as they are literally arguing   over just a handful of extra social housing units out of a total mixed ownership scheme of 189 apartments

    Now in appeal

    So nothing started on site 3 years later and should the appeal be granted now wont be ready til 2024 Meanwhile not 1 single affordable or 1 social housing unit at all

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  8. Robert_May

    Because Shelter is a charity  whose marketing portrays itself as helping the  homeless  it is difficult to comment or question what they actually do to help the homeless.

    As a result of the questionable claims about how 22,million people had been duped  by the letting industry, I looked into what they do and where the money I was giving them, as one of the charities I chose to support, was going.

    I don’t  give to Shelter now!

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    1. APE

      I picked up a Christmas sandwich in M&S.  I put it back on the shelf when I saw it was raising money for Shelter.  How sad is it that an organisation who could work in tandem with providers and experts to really make a difference are intent on causing such divides and hostility.  I’ve filed them away in the ‘disruptors’ drawer.

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      1. Will2

        I hope you don’t shop at B&Q who also support shelter nor have any dealings with Nationwide Building Society who also support shelter rather than pay all its profits to its members.

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  9. LandlordsandLetting

    There is no ‘housing crisis’, there is a ‘London & The South East Housing Crisis’!

    However, if we just continue to build more and more houses in the South East we will only encourage ever more investment here and still more people to move here. And it will continue until overcrowding makes life literally intolerable, in terms of urban sprawl, packed roads, trains, GP surgeries, hospitals and schools. Already even the shortest journey on our roads is usually a misery.

    I have been saying for years that the real answer is for government to re-direct investment and incentives away from the South East towards other parts of the country, particularly northern Britain. Thus jobs will be created there and then people will not need to relocate to find employment. OK, the government are at last making similar noises but let’s hope it’s not just more empty rhetoric – something Boris Johnson is particularly good at..

     

     

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  10. Woodentop

    She needs to take a very long, long, long look in the mirror and ask … who’s fault is it!

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    1. Will2

      She would tell you it is everyone else’s fault but shelters.

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  11. RussellQ

    Current Shelter cash reserves? £15.7m. Yes, £15.7m in the bank.

    Perhaps Polly could put that to good use building social housing or providing homeless shelters before criticising the very landlords that prop up the affordable housing sector?

    Unless she’s saving up for a really big swimming pool herself?

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  12. Thomas Flowers

    In terms of actually housing people perhaps Shelter ought to consider changing their name to the more apt name of ‘Bus Shelter’?

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  13. KC54

    When a Landlord has the choice of taking Housing Benefit at a sub market rent, against letting through someone like Finefare Consultancy at an above market rent, it is a bit of a no brainer on the face of it.  Plus, most local authorities do not required those properties which are sublet to themselves to be licensed, which heaps more legislation and cost on the Landlord renting properties in the shrinking private sector, which in turn drives up the rent.  Landlords and agents get the kicking when it is in fact the policies of local government which are the prime drivers of this debacle.

    Let’s not get started on the minimum standards that we are obliged to provide in the private sector against what the same LA who police us, are prepared to offer to their “homeless”

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/aug/25/flats-block-converting-offices-living-space

    Perhaps Shelter should look closely at the Local Authorities before criticizing agents?  They encourage higher rents and the provision of substandard living accommodation that we would not be allowed to get away with!!

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  14. KByfield04

    Surely if we are talking about a lack of Social Housing there is only one culprit- the government! Pointing fingers at anyone else is actually making them look like fools (to those that understand the real issues) but is easy, click-bait fodder in the ongoing bashing of agents and landlords. As many point out- their shouting and screaming for a charity sitting on millions of pounds, with a hugely expensive HQ in Shoreditch that houses no one- that actually offers no real solutions just points fingers and screams- who are Shelter really? As they are local to us, I actually went in to see them about 10 years ago to propose us donating our admin feen (£120 per tenancy) which we would also match with a collaborative approach around delivering quality ‘Shelter Approved’ housing- the response? I was practically grog-marched out the front door and told ‘we don’t work with letting agents’. Says, It. All.

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  15. The_Maluka

    Ignore all the dissenters Polly, you are doing a great job making my letting business much more profitable.  As the number of landlords declines, thanks to your efforts, demand goes up and my rents increase making me very rich.  Carry on defaming landlords, ignore the homelessnes you are creating and help me line my pockets.

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  16. Gromit

    It’s simple, Shelter is the problem:

    1. Shelter campaigns & lobbies Government for sec.24, TFB, etc

    2. Government blindly (because no has a clue, with new housing minister every 12-14 months)

    3. Landlords facing increased costs & taxes increase eents or exit the market

    4. Tenant get evicted as the Landlords sell up or rent becomes unaffordable.

    5. Tenants cant find anywhere as there’s fewer properties and those available are unaffordable

    6. Tenants go to Local Council for ‘temporary’ housing.

    7. Local Council have no stock so put Tenants in B&B’s, and encourage conversion of office blocks.

    Solution: eliminate Step 1 (and any other housing lobbyists).

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  17. landadvice28

    Shelter need to focus on creating an environment which makes it a reasonable business proposition for Landlords.

    The publication of the RENTED HOMES BILL ( which will abolish s21 possession) is a case in point.

    The consultation promised that we would be able to gain possession against those tenants persistently in arrears, and against those who do not report repair and then do not allow access when they do.

    Both of these do not feature in what is now a very poor piece of legislation which will drive more landlords away from the market as it will be harder to regain possession.

    Shelter should also focus on pressuring the government to build more socially affordable housing instead of putting all the blame on landlords.

    I used to respect the aims of Shelter but now they are a useless organisation adding to homelessness

    Dave Absalom

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  18. Sunbeam175

    We manage in excess of 600 properties and we are increasing almost every rent thanks to Polly Neate. Landlords are selling up due to the financial pressures causing a further lack of rental property which in turn pushes rents up further. Councils are calling asking if we can house tenants but the answer is ‘no’, not interested! Why would we be? We have tenants fighting for properties offering to pay 6 months up front or council paying 4 weeks in arrears! What a mess! Shelter has a lot to answer to, shame the papers won’t do a balanced argument instead of simply printing ‘Polly Propoganda’.

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  19. Gromit

    Shelter are part of the problem, not part of the solution!

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  20. debbiedoesalot

    Did you know that it will take 234,996 £5 donations to go pay this years fat-cat salaries for Shelters top Execs!

    Shelter’s way of preventing homelessness is not by providing homes (shelter) but by fighting any decent landlord trying to evict their problem tenant first hand. I’ve seen a good, decent landlord very nearly driven to the brink by Shelter’s persistent attempts to keep a non-rent paying, nightmare tenant in ‘their home’. It took 3 court hearings to get rid of them as Shelter’s advocates kept turning up to request the hearing be adjourned on a technicality. All in all it took 10 months to get them out, costing the landlord in excess of £10k and putting their neighbours through hell.

    Also did anyone see Tony Hetherington in the Daily Mail’s article about Shelter legally backing a squatter? Shelter’s head of legal service has admitted that providing legal help to squatters is ‘squarely within our charitable objectives’.  Says it all really.

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