Benefit change could result in housing crisis
LANDLORD Assist is concerned that the growing number of landlords refusing to accept tenants in receipt of housing benefit could have drastic consequences on the social housing sector.
The nationwide tenant referencing and tenant eviction firm believes the introduction of licences in some areas, combined with a reduction in housing benefit payments received by tenants, is forcing many landlords to leave the sector.
Stephen Parry, commercial director, said: "A number of local authorities have introduced licensing schemes for landlords whereby they are required to pay a significant licence fee for the ability to rent their property. As a result, many landlords are now diverting their attentions to other areas of property investment.
"Local authorities have also reduced the amount of housing benefit that some people are entitled to, which could lead to an increase in rent arrears for some landlords and a growing disparity between the amount a housing benefit tenant can pay and the market rent.
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"Not surprisingly, due to a lack of supply of rented accommodation in the private rented sector, landlords now feel less reliant on housing benefit tenants to fill their properties. This is simply the harsh reality, but the net result could potentially be a deep housing crisis as local authorities have little available accommodation and are not building enough new properties to satisfy demand."
6 Comments
by sandbagga
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:19PM
“please dont tar everyone with the same brush whether you are a home owner or tenant we all can suffer from bad neighbours that wont work where i live the houses are approx 50/50 between rented and owned and the worst neighbour is a home owner who wont work less you call dealing working as for over grown gardens this again is 50/50 so lets kick out all these tenants that wont work where do we put them high rises as someone suggests are there enough vacant places i dont think so this bedroom tax will not only hit the work shy but also the normal man in the street on low wages i suspect everyone knows someone in this situation i know i do”
by soraya
Thursday, March 07 2013, 7:39PM
“Excellent news. Too much bone idle, and often criminal scum being paid to live in nicer houses than hard working people. It usually ends in tears for the landlords after a year when the tenant starts spending the rent on narcotics and not paying the rent. I was recently gob smacked to find the givernment pays the money directly to the tennant's bank so that they don't have to inform the landlord they are getting the rent as a handout.”
by kent14
Thursday, March 07 2013, 4:45PM
“just drive round any council estate and you can tell the people who own their own house. thoes with filthy gardens should be evicted to high rise flats”
by snowcadet
Thursday, March 07 2013, 2:08PM
“Well the only people I have "experience" of who are state dependent have made for dreadful neighbours. All the properties on my street that are either owned or let by working families have made wonderful neighbours... all the ones that were surrendered for social housing or privately let to benefit dependent families haven't! We had one family evicted after continuous threatening behaviour to the unfortunate elderly neighbour (and environmental health issues), only for the house to be re-let by the private landlord to another dss family who were exactly the same, whose 9 year old son stands blatantly at the bottom of his garden smoking and a constantly barking aggressive dog (to be honest that could be the boys mother having seen the state of her) loose in the front garden that will one day, I'm sure, have to be put down after getting out and eating one of the neighbours kids!... they can't afford to pay their rent, but they can all afford to smoke, get p*ssed all day and maintain a dog!!!
So yes, maybe I am "tarring every one who claims benefits with the same brush" but I can only comment with what I have first hand experience of. If I wanted those kind of neighbours I'd have moved my family to Broxtowe!”
by GoldenPsych
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:30AM
“@ Snowcadet. Although your experience hasn't been great, you seem to be tarring every one who claims benefits with the same brush. I know of someone who claims housing benefit and it has taken them over 6 months to find a one bedroom place while they needed to get out of where they were as was causing them to be ill because of the people they were in a shared house with. It's not as though this person is a lay about. This person is claiming benefits because they are ill and not able to work at the moment. It's difficult enough as it is to find accommodation, with the bedroom tax and this it just makes it even harder.”
by snowcadet
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:24AM
“This is fantastic news! There's one or two private lets on our road with unemployable, feral families in, completely out of place on our street, playing loud music at all hours and drinking all day in the back gardens stinking our washing out with the stench of weed. Hopefully these private landlords will take heed and upgrade the class of people that they rent to.”