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"Housing benefit landlords are ripping off the system"

carolt
Posts: 8,531 Forumite
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8069810/Lord-Freud-Housing-benefit-landlords-are-ripping-off-the-system.html
Confirms everything we already knew - good to see it exposed in The Telegraph, though.
"
Private landlords will pocket almost £8.5bn from the taxpayer this year through housing benefit - more than a third of the total £21.5bn bill, according to figures from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP).
In the past decade, the cost of providing housing to claimants through the private rented sector has soared by 36pc above the rate of inflation to £5,720. Other providers of social accommodation have raised their charges by just 19pc over inflation to £3,991.
Lord Freud said: "This confirms what we have long suspected, that some unscrupulous landlords are charging benefit claimants over the odds to make a quick buck at the expense of the taxpayer."
The housing benefit bill has exploded in the past decade, rising at 50pc above the rate of inflation to £21.5bn as both claimants and rents have increased, and is now larger than the bill for the Army and Royal Navy combined. Each working adult is contributing £689 a year.
The Coalition plans to save £1.77bn a year by cutting the weekly allowance from £2,000 to £400, among other measures. Further changes may be introduced in this week's spending review.
A DWP study, Low Income Working Households In The Private Rented Sector, found that, on average, private landlords charge higher rents to housing benefit claimants than working adults in equivalent accommodation, but provide worse conditions.
The research also offered compelling evidence that the benefit is distorting incentives to work, underlining the need for reform. "[Low income working] Households with children aged under 16 do appear to be worse off in terms of the property size that they occupy and the rates they would be entitled to if they were eligible for housing benefit," the study said.
According to the DWP, "Some private landlords specifically target the housing benefit sub-market because they know they can command higher rents from these tenants... causing a knock-on effect on rents in the area."
Making matters worse, many private landlords are said to have bought council housing stock off local authorities and then rented it back as social housing."
Confirms everything we already knew - good to see it exposed in The Telegraph, though.
"
Private landlords will pocket almost £8.5bn from the taxpayer this year through housing benefit - more than a third of the total £21.5bn bill, according to figures from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP).
In the past decade, the cost of providing housing to claimants through the private rented sector has soared by 36pc above the rate of inflation to £5,720. Other providers of social accommodation have raised their charges by just 19pc over inflation to £3,991.
Lord Freud said: "This confirms what we have long suspected, that some unscrupulous landlords are charging benefit claimants over the odds to make a quick buck at the expense of the taxpayer."
The housing benefit bill has exploded in the past decade, rising at 50pc above the rate of inflation to £21.5bn as both claimants and rents have increased, and is now larger than the bill for the Army and Royal Navy combined. Each working adult is contributing £689 a year.
The Coalition plans to save £1.77bn a year by cutting the weekly allowance from £2,000 to £400, among other measures. Further changes may be introduced in this week's spending review.
A DWP study, Low Income Working Households In The Private Rented Sector, found that, on average, private landlords charge higher rents to housing benefit claimants than working adults in equivalent accommodation, but provide worse conditions.
The research also offered compelling evidence that the benefit is distorting incentives to work, underlining the need for reform. "[Low income working] Households with children aged under 16 do appear to be worse off in terms of the property size that they occupy and the rates they would be entitled to if they were eligible for housing benefit," the study said.
According to the DWP, "Some private landlords specifically target the housing benefit sub-market because they know they can command higher rents from these tenants... causing a knock-on effect on rents in the area."
Making matters worse, many private landlords are said to have bought council housing stock off local authorities and then rented it back as social housing."
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Comments
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Parasites is the only word I can think of.Have my first business premises (+4th business) 01/11/2017
Quit day job to run 3 businesses 08/02/2017
Started third business 25/06/2016
Son born 13/09/2015
Started a second business 03/08/2013
Officially the owner of my own business since 13/01/20120 -
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Blacklight wrote: »Pretty much sums up the public sector commercial acumen in one sentence.
A lot of them are also renting it back at inflated prices to family members.Not Again0 -
whatever does 'ripping off' mean
some very generous people have the decency to actually publish the maximum they will pay for housing then why wouldn't you charge the maximum for rubbish?0 -
The government are the ones who have introduced policies to sell off the majority of good social housing stock, have increased inward migration and failed to provide the housing infrastructure to match increases in population growth.
So if private landlords do not fill the vacuum, who does? Where can the cheap rental properties come from now that the social housing stock is completely decimated and house prices are so high because of high demand and low supply?
Why do people expect private landlords to offer low cost rent? They aren't a branch of social services.0 -
Why do people expect private landlords to offer low cost rent? They aren't a branch of social services.
Because people on here are very quick with their moral and ethical judgements but the reality is that if it put food on their table they'd do exactly the same thing.
As you correctly state, the problem lies more with the government creating and allowing this situation to flourish rather than those taking easy advantage.0 -
and? business is business0
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