arrears have increased by 340% following the housing benefit cuts

Fintwo

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Housing benefit created the upward spiral in rents. So the reductions longer term may well have a corresponding impact. Not least that disposable income has been in decline for some years now.

Individuals with mortgages may themselves face increasing pressure in the years to come.

Individuals with mortgages? Are you talking about over leveraged landlords who can not cope with the impending interest rate rises and lower average rents as housing benefit keeps getting cut back every year?

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I do hope the government stick with it. It will bring rents down in the end. It will have too, as the private sector can't afford what landlords are demanding in the same way housing benefits could.

Its not a case of hoping the government stick with it. It is unsustainable, if they could keep paying high housing benefit payments to prop up the rental sector they would. But it has gone on far too long already. There is no other option but to keep cutting every year from now on.

As you say Graham. It will bring rents down in the end. This will also bring property down in general.

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Doesn't address the fact that the level of spending is currently unaffordable.

Unaffordable or another way to say it is- unsustainabe. Things that are unsustainable will not be sustained.

shortchanged_2

It's pretty obvious that one of the main drivers of the benefits bill is the increasing cost of living of which the main driver is the cost of rent.

Many problems would be solved in this country if housing costs were cheaper for both rentals and mortgagees.

Fintwo

shortchanged wrote: »

It's pretty obvious that one of the main drivers of the benefits bill is the increasing cost of living of which the main driver is the cost of rent.

Many problems would be solved in this country if housing costs were cheaper for both rentals and mortgagees.

Very true. As you say many problems would be solved.

For example that other chap saying these families will just have to cut back in other areas to pay these high rents and live on one meal a day as the example in the quoted article.

Well what effect will that have on the UK's ecconnomy if the 5 million housing benefit claimants have most of their benefits going to their rent and living in poverty?

High rents are sucking money away from other areas and that is why the currenct crisis is getting so much worse.

Thrugelmir wrote: »

1. My response was based on an ever spiralling HB bill. With over 5 million people now receiving HB. The amount that the Government makes available will in itself impact the market.

2. Lack of disposable income will force people to make choices. One likely course of action is simply not to pay the rent. So the problem then becomes the Landlords. Many BTL LL's are dependent on having tenats to pay the mortgage. So perhaps better to lower the rent than to have a void period. Commercial decision at the end of the day.

If they have that choice where they can lower the rent. Many are now over leveraged and can not afford to lower the rent so the property will be empty until its repossessed by the bank.

I know THE GREEDY LANDLORDS WILL HAVE TO LIVE ON ONE MEAL PER DAY TO MAKE UP THE SHORTFALL!

Fintwo

Those families now living on one meal per day should surely move somewhere cheaper. Is not food more important than having to squash into a cheap bedsit?

"I now get by on one meal a day," he said.
His fortnightly food budget is £25.

£12.50 per week for food. All so that he can keep paying his greedy landlord the over priced rents?
"The numbers of empty homes we've got to let are increasing significantly," says Iain Sim, chief executive of Coast and Country

Across the country in Merseyside, it is a similar story. Cobalt Housing,

We have perfectly good, three-bedroom homes that people are telling us they can't afford to live in”

Um well why not lower the rents? Duh! Lower rent is better than no rent.

Mr._Pricklepants

Fintwo wrote: »

For some of us with large families living in the city that £26K makes up most of our housing benefit.

Before starting a large family, make sure you can afford to house a large family.

N1AK

Fintwo wrote: »

If they have that choice where they can lower the rent. Many are now over leveraged and can not afford to lower the rent so the property will be empty until its repossessed by the bank.

Government spending isn't infinite and doesn't come from nowhere. The more spent on housing benefit the less spent on healthcare, transport, schools etc or the more tax required.

Housing benefit, and council housing generally, has been a joke for too long with many, though by no means all, claimants getting far more than they need. Yes the current changes are also affecting some people unfairly (in my opinion) but that's to be expected when making such large changes so quickly.

Graham highlighted a great example: The mum who was used as a 'victim' case who wasn't charging a working adult son any rent; but was struggling to cover the costs of her 3 bed house. Cry me a f'ing river.

IveSeenTheLight

Again, you have failed to answer the questions

Thrugelmir wrote: »

1. My response was based on an ever spiralling HB bill. With over 5 million people now receiving HB. The amount that the Government makes available will in itself impact the market.

You can't just say the overall bill has increased as it doesn't consider the quantity.

As a simple example. if there a 4 million claimants receiving HB of average say £750 (figure not reflective of actual average HB), then the HB bill is £3Billion.

If there are now 5 million claiments getting a lower average of £700, then the HB bill goes up to £3.5Billion, despite the individual HB allowance decreasing.

None of this answer what the impact has been on rents.

Again I ask, please quantify what the HB impact has been on rents.

Thrugelmir wrote: »

2. Lack of disposable income will force people to make choices. One likely course of action is simply not to pay the rent. So the problem then becomes the Landlords. Many BTL LL's are dependent on having tenats to pay the mortgage. So perhaps better to lower the rent than to have a void period. Commercial decision at the end of the day.

Of course that is one of the options.
Most responsible people will prioritise the housing costs ahead of lower priority costs as per my previous mail, to save risking being evicted.

If you answered question 1, maybe it would highlight the impact of how much people would need to reprioritise.
I seem to recall previously this impact was measured as circa £8 (can't recall if that was per week or per month).
Would you risk your home for £8 / £32 per month as opposed to cutting back on other non essentials?

IveSeenTheLight

shortchanged wrote: »

Many problems would be solved in this country if housing costs were cheaper for both rentals and mortgagees.

Strange statement when it can be shown that mortgage repayments are historically low as a percentage of earnings.

wotsthat

shortchanged wrote: »

Many problems would be solved in this country if housing costs were cheaper for both rentals and mortgagees.

To be honest a better solution would be for people to be more productive.

If as much effort was spent on looking at this rather than working out how we keep the unproductive in the manner to which they've become accustomed we might be in a better place.

Do people take any pride in being self-sufficient anymore or are we just becoming a nation of benefit hunters?

grizzly1911

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Would you risk your home for £8 / £32 per month as opposed to cutting back on other non essentials?

I doubt you, I or many posters here would - because we can afford to make choices.

The BBC article I linked to suggest that there are already many that simply don't have a choice. They don't have many things on your list to actually choose not to have.

I am not on about the ludicrous woman who doesn't want to charge her employed children for the room.

I am not sure comparing your position and market with the bottom end social sector allows comparisons to be made.