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Landlords respond to rising
cost of Housing Benefit
RESPONDING to the findings from the
National Housing Federation (NHF) about the cost of housing benefit in the UK,
Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the National Landlords Association (NLA),
said:- "Housing benefit is not a subsidy to landlords; it's a support for
tenants to ensure they can pay for their housing. However, the proportion of
landlords who let to tenants in receipt of housing benefit has halved over the
last 5 years as benefit levels have not kept up with rents.
The NHF is clearly still reeling from the news that its members have been
ordered by government to reduce spending over the next 4 years, so it comes as
no surprise that they are looking to shift the emphasis and point the finger
elsewhere.
The private rented sector has grown as the market responds to the increasing
demand for homes, particularly from a growing proportion of tenants whom the
social sector and housing associations simply are not able to support in the
current circumstances.
The private rented sector plays a significant role in providing much needed
homes for tenants so there seems no real benefit in the NHF taking a cheap shot
at landlords. What we should all be talking about is the failure of successive
governments to adequately allocate its housing budget and to incentivise the
building of new homes. In the long term, that would be the best use of
Taxpayers' money." |
