The Step by Step homelessness charity has jumped on the anti – landlord bandwagon by demanding that rival rental bidding on PRS homes must be ‘outlawed’ as it stops the poorest of younger tenants from being housed.

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The charity believes that landlords’ apparently encouraging rental bidding wars within the PRS, are “taking advantage” of the demand over supply crisis by taking on applicants willing to stump up six months in advance.

Chair spokeswoman of the charity, Susan Muckart, is adamant that young people cannot afford to enter into a rental bidding war, as the majority are having to face countless challenges in these inflation busting times.

She said: “As the need to bid for a property becomes more commonplace, the likelihood of a young person securing their own property declines. Young people who have faced challenging upbringings and experienced homelessness will be at an immediate disadvantage.”

The charity has just released a statement claiming that landlords used to solely award tenancies on a first come first-served basis upon the potential renter passing reference and credit checks and able to afford the deposit.

But the charity further claims that currently some landlords are telling prospective tenants to send them a written application detailing their background, who they are and how much they are able to bid on either the monthly rent they are willing to pay or how much they can pay upfront.

It says landlords are now making their decision after finding out who is able to afford pay more than the advertised rent and their detailed application is the most impressive and “Applicants are often gazumped by those offering to pay up to 25 per cent more rent”.

The charity states that because of the supposed ‘dark arts’ of actually carrying out proper background checks  younger people are unsuccessful in their attempts to be housed, and advertised rental prices are hiding the fact that they are only a minimum bid amount, which further exacerbates the issue.

Another Step By Step ,spokesperson, Kelly Headen, adds her own anti-landlord generalised stance when saying: “It is deeply concerning that the decision-making process is now based on unregulated ‘assumptions’ from a landlord. It is unquestionably unethical and open to significant discrimination.”

She states younger prospective tenants will probably miss out on being housed because of this ‘apparent’ so-called process.

The charity also says that another nail in the coffin for younger renter applicants is down to the law ‘outlawing’ additional fees charged to tenants which include referencing etc.

The Step By Step’ statement reads: “A change to the law in 2019 means that tenants no longer have to pay the fees associated with obtaining references. Instead, the landlord is expected to foot the bill.

“While this is ostensibly good news for tenants, in reality it has led to landlords seeking references only once they have already made the decision about who to let to; with so many potential tenants vying for each property, it would prove very costly for a landlord to obtain references for each initial applicant.

“This effectively means that references do not factor into a landlord’s decision making. Even if a young person has strong references, these would afford no advantage in being considered over rival applicants.”