Steve Brine has issued a stark warning that changes to housing benefit rules are harming the most vulnerable tenants and actually reducing the availability of affordable accommodation.
Speaking after a special session of the Winchester Town Forum (Weds 28 October 2009), which focused on the issue of homelessness, Mr Brine said the new ‘Local Housing Allowance’ introduced last year had been a regressive step.
It sees housing benefit paid direct to the tenant rather than to the landlord, leaving vulnerable tenants who often struggle to manage their finances, in a position where they spend their rent money on other things. The homeless charity, Crisis, has warned that this can result in rent arrears and exasperate the problem of homelessness.
Landlords who were previously happy to take on tenants on housing benefit have suffered from non-payment of rent. Many landlords now routinely refuse to let to Local Housing Allowance claimants. According to the National Landlords Association, half of all landlords are reluctant to lend to tenants on Local Housing Allowance.
A little over 2,000 (two-thousand) people in the Winchester District are currently on local housing waiting lists, and a sizeable proportion of them are on housing benefit. Mr Brine said Conservatives are pledged to change what he called a ‘failed’ policy. Tenants will be able to choose whether to have their housing allowance paid direct to their landlord which it is hoped will increase the availability of quality low-cost housing.
Steve Brine said: “The new housing benefit rules emanate from America where they have had some success but this is not the US and they are failing the most vulnerable in our society here. Landlords are put off from renting to those on benefit, slashing the availability of decent places to live. It is sadly not uncommon to see “NO HB” or “NO DSS” in adverts of property to rent locally.
“We know some tenants, for all manner of reasons, struggle to manage their finances and end up using some or all of their benefit money by rent pay day. They get into arrears and trouble as a result which feeds the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Tenants should have greater choice, and be free to specify that their housing benefit should go direct to the landlord. This will help those most in need."