propertytalk Live! - 'Del Boy' housing benefit policy under fire

propertytalk Live! - 'Del Boy' housing benefit policy under fire

The British Property Federation has questioned a move that would see council staff having to wheel and deal with local landlords to reduce their rent in return for the comfort of getting paid directly.

It has been confirmed that this policy will only last for two years.

Previously Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud had urged landlords to "meet us half way" by lowering rents in exchange for a return to the system of direct payments, where rent is paid directly to the landlord by the local authority, rather than by the tenant.

It has emerged as part of changes to the LHA that came into effect yesterday that this protection will only last for up to two years.

Many of the changes were announced as part of a raft of reforms in last year's Emergency Budget and autumn Spending Review that also see LHA capped at £400 a week for new tenants.

Ian Fletcher, director policy at the British Property Federation, said: "This is Del-Boy benefit policy -seeking to trade a landlord's right to be paid with the Government's desire to reduce its expenditure.