“Well, you might be a tax-payer, but it would seem to me, as you are a landlord, that it is your capital that is 'working hard' for you. Not necessarily you yourself. Private landlords are parasites milking the benefits system for housing benefit.”

“The system in Iran is much better. All basics are subsidised for everyone. this means everyone has affordable gas, electricity, water, bread, milk, rice, fresh fruit vegetables, i.e. INGREDIENTS, not junk food garbage.

Subsidising them for everyone stops there being a black market where they are sold to people who might not be eligible for subsidies so that the proceeds can be spent on drink/drugs/bingo/pets/baseball caps etc...”

“Thank you for your comment Neo Madbadger. I am a reluctant land lady who was forced to move out of my home due to anti-social behaviour. I am now in rented accomodation and paying the price! I also work full time and pay my taxes. It's a shame you tarnish all Landlords with the same brush. From my experience It could have been all too easy to be judgemental about people who claim benefits, however I now have a trustworthy tenant who is on benefits.”

“Good for you. Although I don't quite see what the point of your post was now.”

“Not all landlords are as you say "parasites." I've had to make financial sacrifices, yet, I still live by the rules and pay my bills. Some people on benefits choose not to and think they can live rent free, and actually do! The benefits system allows for this to happen. The anti social behaviour I endured was due to them not having to go to work, constantly gathering/drinking/fighting on the street in the early hours of the morning making peoples lives a misery!The horrendous estate agent I was with, openly bragged about how much they could get from DSS. My tenant didn't pay rent for 2 months, trashed the house, left hundreds of pounds of debt and did a moonlight flit! Who is milking the system?”

“Now I know that you are a troll. No such thing as the DSS and hasn't been for many, many years. So that proves that you're not a landlord. The Housing Benefit doesn't get paid to the estate agent but to the landlord so your other point is rubbish too. Bye.”

“I think if you do your research you will find that there are DSS tenants. The money goes to the estate agents if they are acting in your interest and the tenant falters! If you haven't got anything constructive to say then don't say anything at all!”

“Well done mad badger for taking the excellent advice! Or maybe you are just out buying your drink and drugs!”

“Oh!!!! And can I just add madbadger- how do you think she got her 'capital' - you utter plonker!! Cbeebies starts at 7am- try it,you might learn something!!”

“MadBadger, a very large number of people still refer to the DSS rather than the DWP. I may be rather out of date with my Benefit law but I understand that it is still policy to pay rent to the tenant and it is quite a problem for landlords to get "rent direct".”

“Bill, your post, unfortunately, just shows how out of touch you are with things. However, these things tend to be circular so your post will make more sense in about a year or two. Good luck.”

“Thank you Blawrenson you are right. The government thought it was a good idea to pay the tenants direct, to try and make them take responsibility. I know this because I have discussed this with housing benefits, not so long ago, about how their systems failed me as a landlord. Letting agents, insurance policies etc, all use the term DSS. Unfortunately Madbadger hasn't got a clue what he's talking about, and quite rude with it!”

“To the best of my knowledge Housing Benefit is paid to the tenant unless a rent direct form is completed and nowadays this is usually a condition of being granted a tenancy. ,however, If the housing benefit is being paid to a tenant and they become 8 weeks in arrears then the landlord can request that payment be made direct.”

“I agree with Tazzalo;there are many 'reluctant' landlords out there that have been forced into letting out their properties because they are unable to sell them due to anti-social behaviour in the surrounding streets and area. The actions of a few can prevent law-abiding, working people making the most out of the properties that they have worked so hard for.”

“HB direct to the landlord has been around for decades. Some people do talk some rubbish.

I'm in rented accomodation through an agent and I actually think the landlord provides a good service.”

“Thanks MrsLD.
I am a reluctant tenant too, however, my landlord provides a good service. I think that I, as a landlord provide a good service. The letting agent for my rental property however was unbelievably unprofessional and also played the system.
They took 5 months to find a tenant! My tenant failed to fill in her housing benefits form for 2 months, so lived rent free!! I was advised it would all be back paid.My letting agents, who were meant to be acting in my best interest, did not even know she had not put the forms in for those 2 months until I arranged to go into branch. They told me it was the tenants responsibility, but I question that when they are dealing with the tenant directly, not myself. The only way the agent got the money finally paid directly to them was because she was in arrears and when they did, it could take another 2 weeks to reach my account. They claimed they never knew when housing benefit would send the rent. I went to housing benefit direct and they told me they paid on a set date every month!

This is why I stress, be extremely careful what agents you choose. From that letting I ended up losing an awful lot of money.There were endless issues with the agent but I could not follow a complaints procedure because they were not a member of the ombudsman for lettings, unless you paid out a nice £750 to take them to court! They were nothing but Cowboys!

Note to self - There's the good, the bad and the ugly ... and both ,tenant and agent were ugly.

I am now with an excellent letting agent who pitched the rent at a reasonable price, got a tenant within a month, sorted out essential forms, and offers an excellent problem free service.

Sooo I ask myself... how did all this happen? Anti-social behaviour driving hard working people out of their homes that they have worked for all their lives. It's a vicious cycle!”

“HB is not paid directly to the estate / letting agent. It is paid directly to the landlord but changes are to be introduced whereby it is paid directly to the tenant to pay to the landlord / estate agent / letting agent apart from those HB tenants who are deemed vulnerable.”

“If mad badger tells you something about the benefit system you had better believe him.
Why does he know about all the systems and how they pay?
Why does he know all the terminology?
How would he know all this without being a benefit scrounger?
Please make your own minds up.”