Almost nine out of ten (87%) landlords who accept housing benefit tenants have had problems with rent not being paid on time, with one in ten (11%) saying they have had tenants who stopped paying their rent altogether.   Out of all landlords, more than half (59%) stipulate no housing benefit tenants in their advertisements.The astonishing results emerge from a survey of over 1,000 UK landlords, conducted by flat and house share website...

Councils and housing associations to test direct payments of housing cost support Local authority and housing association partnerships are named as the successful volunteers the Government plans to work with on pioneering demonstration projects that will see claimants in the social rented sector directly receiving monthly housing benefit payments and paying rent to landlords themselves for the first time. The demonstration projects, which will...

The Department of Work and Pensions (“DWP”) have published housing benefit circular HB/CTB A4/2011 which advises local authority staff on how to make decisions under the new direct payment provisions which commence in April 2011. What’s changing? From 6 April 2011, the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 are amended to include a new “discretionary” direct payment to landlords. Regulation 96(3A)(b) (circumstances when payment “may” be...

The below article is taken from http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/work_and_pensions_committee/wappn14102009.cfm The Work and Pensions Committee have announced an inquiry into “Local Housing Allowance”  The Committee welcomes submissions, in accordance with the guidelines set out below, with reference to areas such as: • The objectives of LHA and whether they are met in practice; • Whether LHA is understood by claimants...

The Conservatives have announced proposed changes to the Local Housing Allowance aimed at increasing the supply of housing and helping the most vulnerable tenants. Grant Shapps, the Shadow Housing Minister, explained that under a Conservative government tenants will be able to choose to have their housing allowance paid direct to landlords instead of themselves. He said that the current system has failed both tenants and landlords and has led...