18th
Sep 2015
Recent research says 52% tenants receiving housing benefit in the PRS (Private Rented Sector) are being paid late by the council.
Around 3.3 million private renting tenants are on housing benefit and findings from the research says that 36% from those polled, state that they have been unable to make their rent payments on time and had caused them considerable problems.
A housing charity has just slammed the government’s decision to freeze housing benefit over the next four years will impact on 80% of working households in the UK who are claiming the benefit, and will have to find extra money to pay the rent because of the planned shortfall.
73% of tenants claiming benefits have their monthly rent now paid directly to them and is now their responsibility of passing it onto the landlord. Nearly a third of those tenants on benefits have their rent paid directly to the landlord by the local council.
Richard Merrick of PIMS, said: “It is understood why the government has changed the system of benefit payments to become monthly, however we are forever hearing of the problems with the changeover to Universal Credit where the first payment has been seriously delayed.”
He added: “ Many private landlords will be affected by the freeze to the housing benefit from April 2016 and this coupled with the changes to mortgage interest tax relief will have major repercussions within the PRS.”
Image Source: BBC.co.uk
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