Meet the landlord who’s giving back to local tenants in need
Simon Lill tried to help the homeless but all the red tape pushed him into a new approach.
When Simon Lill decided to pack in his job in enterprise software sales in 2020 to become a full-time landlord, he wanted to “give something back” to his community.
Rather than go down the usual route of letting his property to students or private tenants, he decided to work with a homelessness charity to help get people off the street.
Kettering-based anti-poverty and homelessness prevention charity Accommodation Concern rents properties from private landlords to provide free accommodation to people who have fallen out of the system.
Tenants get a room for six months and one-to-one advice and support to help integrate them back into work and financial independence.
In Kettering the charity claims housing benefits from North Northamptonshire Council on behalf of residents, which is then paid in rent to the private landlord who owns the property.
“I wasn’t enjoying my job and then when the pandemic and lockdowns started, I thought I’d take the opportunity to change my career,” Lill told i. “I’d always watched property programmes… and had that itch to get into it myself.”
But the 62-year-old, who lives with his partner in Northampton, didn’t want to become a “typical” landlord.
“After I quit my job I started to research properly and realised it was possible to give something back and create a viable business,” he said. “I’d heard about this local charity and wanted to work with them to set up something similar here in Northampton.”
He approached Accommodation Concern and got the ball rolling. “It took me a while to purchase my first property, a five-bedroom house,” Lill said. The charity uses four of the rooms to house local people affected by homelessness or who are in a precarious housing position. The fifth bedroom is used for advice sessions.
Residents are taken through a six-month programme of coaching, counselling and education to help them get back on their feet. And because they have a fixed address, they’re able to open a bank account, live independently and improve their chances of getting a job.
It also means that they qualify for council housing at the end of the six months. “That’s really important,” Lill said. “You only have to have been homeless for 28 days before the local authority can refuse to house you immediately unless you qualify under a specific set of circumstances.”
Lill’s plan was to buy five properties with five bedrooms each to let to the charity. Sadly, things didn’t go according to plan.
“We started the process of getting the charity registered to receive funding from the local council in my area but it quite quickly became obvious that they were dragging their feet,” he said. “We became more and more frustrated, particularly as we had spent money on legal work, and even got our local MP Michael Ellis involved.”
Mr Ellis (inset) wrote to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) on 30 June 2022 and received a response from Joanne Barrett, the assistant director of housing and communities for the area, on 6 September that year.
In it she explained that WNC received housing benefit from central government at different rates depending on whether the accommodation was provided by a social housing provider or private landlord.
The response, seen by i, read: “In terms of making best use of public money the council is not currently procuring additional provision from non-regulated private sector providers as this type of activity increases financial pressures on the council.”
Ms Barrett said the council was “shortly going to commission an independent review of the housing, health and support needs of single homeless people”.
She added: “This will then inform a structured approach to designing and commissioning services for single homeless people in West Northants.”
i contacted WNC to ask whether this review had taken place but did not receive a response.
Lill said: “It was such a tremendous shame that we had to disengage and couldn’t take the idea forward. It felt as if they didn’t want to help people – effectively they’re saying if you’re homeless, go to Kettering, because there’s no help in Northampton.”
The councils covering Kettering and Northampton were contacted by i but no response was received.
Foiled, Lill decided to let out his five properties to people who needed it. “I want to raise the standard of accommodation for renters and provide a decent service for my area,” he said.
He now owns six houses and one flat, mainly older properties, which he lets to private tenants.
But that’s about to change. Earlier this year the Government dropped plans to force all private landlords to upgrade rental properties to minimum energy efficiency standards – EPC (energy performance certificate) band C or higher – by 2028.
“The writing’s on the wall though,” Lill said. “And the cost of doing those upgrades is financially ruinous.
“Some homes are just not suited – cheaper Victorian properties have chimneys and draughty floors and windows.
“I’d have to put insulation in the walls, which creates moisture and then you’ve got a damp problem and mould. It’s ridiculous – and basically makes the property even less suitable for modern living.” Because of this he has decided to sell his existing properties and buy newer homes which are more energy-efficient.
In addition, he plans to purchase those properties through a limited company after the Government scrapped tax relief on buy-to-let mortgage interest and arrangement fees from 2021. It effectively means that landlords pay income tax on their rental revenue rather than on their profit, as is the case with a limited company.
“I’m staying as a landlord, even though I think all landlords feel under attack wherever they turn,” Lill added. “But I got into it because I want to give something back to people who need somewhere safe and comfortable to live. The important thing to me is being a good landlord for my tenants.”
I’m staying as a landlord, even though I think all landlords feel under attack wherever they turn