By Neil Merrick
Government moves to reform housing benefit by making tenants more responsible for paying their rent are being thwarted by private landlords, a survey suggests.
Government moves to reform housing benefit by making tenants more responsible for paying their rent are being thwarted by private landlords, a survey suggests.More than half (52%) of private landlords said they now declined or were reluctant to let properties to tenants receiving local housing allowance, according to the survey by the National Landlords Association.
Of those with experience of the new system, 43% said they were dropping out of the market because they could not be certain they would receive rent.
Just 25% of respondents said they accepted tenants receiving the allowance.
The survey of 476 landlords was carried out a year after the allowance was introduced for private tenants in England.
Landlords said they were angry that they had to wait until tenants were eight weeks in arrears before rent was paid directly to them, as under housing benefit.
NLA director Richard Price said there should be an automatic trigger when tenants were a month in arrears, leading to rent being paid directly to landlords. He also called for better administration by local authorities and swifter identification of vulnerable tenants who struggle financially. ‘LHA is not improving access to housing and has actually reduced tenant choice,’ he said. ‘If landlords are opting out of this part of the market, where will these families go?’
Under LHA, tenants eligible for housing benefit are paid a sum based on local market rents. If they find a cheaper landlord, they keep up to £15 of their weekly allowance.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said there was no evidence that tenants on LHA were being turned away by private landlords.
