Why are Landlords so against someone who has HB help even though they are working
It’s generally a stipulation from the mortgage lenders
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I think this is true sometimes, but it’s not the whole story.
It’s very complex and there are many reasons why some properties won’t be let to tenants who claim benefits.
It would be very easy to speculate, but I don’t think speculation is helpful. It’s an empirical question and so it’s really just a question that has to be settled by proper investigations into decision making within the PRS.
Unfortunately, consumer groups (e.g. tenants) have poor incentives to the collective action needed to produce the research which could lead to changes in policy, whereas producer groups (landlords) are structured in a way that makes collective action more likely.
For example, it has been revealed by BBC (and other) investigation that many letting agents have a tacit policy against ‘DSS’ tenants.
Housing Benefit and Universal Credit will not pay the landlords direct. The landlord then has to wait several weeks for rent to come in. And the landlord will not be given any information regarding the claim. If the tenants has even filled in the correct forms, how much rent has been awarded, whether the tenant has been paid and prefers to spend the rent on a new designer track suit, live for several months or years in some cases without paying rent as most tenants know the landlord has to jump through hoops, do everything exactly by the book, pay solicitors and court fees, so the judge can give the tenant several more months to clean up his act, spend some more of the rent money, trash the house, wait for the bailiffs then move back in with their mom, before doing it all over again.
Hi Tracey, the Department for Work and Pensions (which of course used to be the Department of Social Security aka DSS) is beginning an investigation into how benefits experience the PRS and I assume that must also encompass looking at how LHA/UC is paid to landlords.
It is already the case that tenants can, in some circumstances, have benefits paid directly to their landlord, but I think most landlords would agree with you and like this to become the norm.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is likewise looking into the eviction process and setting up a new housing court, since the current system can be unfair to both good tenants and good landlords.
We’ll be covering these topics on the blog as they develop!