Member Article

Zero hour rent ban: National radio debate for major lettings figures

• “1.4m people can’t be ignored“ North East property expert tells zero-hour rent ban boss

A leading property expert has gone head to head on national radio with the landlord banning tenants on zero-hours contracts - calling his decision “draconian” and “narrow-minded”

Ajay Jagota of North East-based sales and lettings business KIS last week blasted millionaire landlord Fergus Wilson’s plans to reject any tenant without guaranteed minimum hours of pay.

The two debated the issue on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Afternoon Edition with Dan Walker and Sarah Brett, with an unapologetic Wilson arguing “face facts… somebody has to go without”.

The debate came as research from the Residential Landlords Association showed that 62% of landlords would not let properties to tenants on zero-hour contracts, which are now used by 1 in 10 employers.

1.4m people in the UK are now employed on zero hours contracts, mainly the young, women and the over 65s. The number has doubled in recent years.

Speaking during the debate, Ajay, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the UK’s most innovative sales and lettings business said:

“We’ve just come out of a recession and I.4m people isn’t a small section of society, it’s a large section of society. To ostracise them is draconian.

“1.4m people can’t be ignored.

“Finding the right tenant isn’t just about the ability to afford the rent. There are whole lot of issues to be considered”

Ajay described Wilson’s argument that insurers would not underwrite the rent of tenants on zero hour contracts as “narrow-minded”.

“Go back to your insurance company and explore the market like we did. There are insurance companies out there that will”, he advised.

Speaking after the debate, Ajay said:

“Both myself and Fergus Wilson are businessmen taking business decisions, I’m just a businessman who thinks that ignoring customers is foolish.

“The rise of zero hour contracts poses a problem for landlords and lettings agents, but you don’t solve that problem by burying your head in the sand. You solve it like we did, by working with insurers to develop a policy which guarantees rent from your properties no matter what the circumstances.

“Shutting our doors to millions of customers isn’t just financial lunacy, if it looks like we’re dragging ourselves back to the bad old days of blanket bans for certain types of tenants we’re doing our industry’s image no good either.”

KIS manage properties for landlords in every corner of the North East from branches across Tyne and Wear, and were named Letting Agent of the Year in the 2013 Landlord and Letting Awards. The firm expanded into residential sales in 2014.

The property firm is famous for being the first letting agent in the UK to abolish deposits, replacing them with a one-of-a-kind landlord insurance policy offering guaranteed rent, deposit replacement, legal assistance and round the clock third party emergency home repairs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ajay Jagota .