Lowered Benefit cap could affect landlords from 8th May?

Lowered Benefit cap could affect landlords from 8th May?

11:04 AM, 13th April 2015, About 9 years ago 159

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If nothing is changed post election on the 8th of May the Benefit cap will be reduced from £500 to £440 pw in London with a lower cap in other regions of £396, 90% of the London figure.

As an example: A two parent household with three children receive £334 per week and then deduct the welfare benefit and child tax credit income to leave a maximum residual HB or LHA payable.  From the new cap figures this leaves a maximum of £62 per week in housing benefit outside the capital and £106 per week in London.

The question is will landlords risk renting their investments to benefit families who will only receive £275 per calendar month in HB or LHA towards the rent on a three-bed property? Or to a single parent with three children who will only receive £456 per month in HB to pay for a three-bed property in an area such as Liverpool with a typical three-bed private rent of £525 per month?

The last two years has seen some social landlords refuse to tenant a property with those under occupying due to the bedroom tax. Now landlords could face a greater financial risk, even on fully occupied properties, and so some may be forced to stop providing property to such households. Thus creating even greater pressure on council supplied social housing.

Mick Robertsbenefit cap


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Comments

Luke P

11:09 AM, 11th May 2015, About 9 years ago

Just to add to that, a considerable number of our tenants are young couples (usually with a kid), where the girl 'officially' lives in the property alone with her child (£92/week HB), but despite the lad being there all of the time and sleeping there every night, lists himself as living with his own parents and claiming HB there/having a reasonably well paid job and therefore increasing this 'split' family's overall income. I have reported many cases and nothing is ever done. I just get on and rent the properties now and leave them to their own devices. I am not the HB police, despite being hacked off as a tax payer.

I wish my partner and I could claim a 25% reduction in C.Tax and have an extra £92/week thrown our way!!

There's also a recent trend of the 'enterprising' unemployed mother selling on Facebook/eBay (to what would amount to a small business), but that doesn't count...it's all just 'on-the-side'!

Alan Loughlin

11:15 AM, 11th May 2015, About 9 years ago

the reduced cap will start to sort some of the abuse, but it should be no more in London than the rest of the country, this just fuels the excesses there, nothing would please me more than to see this cap, which I believe was set much, much too high in the first place, being reduced rapidly.

Si G

21:30 PM, 11th May 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "AA Properties Wales " at "29/04/2015 - 07:57":

It sems the electorate agree with you AA Properties as weve elected them for another five year term

Si G

21:37 PM, 11th May 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Alan Loughlin" at "27/04/2015 - 07:30":

I quite agree with you Alan, perhaps the elected Government will now look at stopping support to non British migrants sponging on the far too generous welfare cake that we provide - pity the hardworking taxpayers paying their motgage living next door to a migrant (or lazy British) non working family on the teet, what is wrong with the system ?

Kulasmiley

1:37 AM, 12th May 2015, About 9 years ago

Simon the migrants in California propped up business, I know, I was one of them.migrants work here dowing obs the brits won't get off their butt for. So, there's two sides to every argument just as it is wrong fr them to have access
to supported housing and benefits.

Mick Roberts

8:24 AM, 12th May 2015, About 9 years ago

Alan, If you take away their 'rent' money, where they gonna' live?

If they don't already live in London, where they gonna' live?

Alan Loughlin

8:33 AM, 12th May 2015, About 9 years ago

people on benefits taking home more than someone slogging their guts out day after day cannot be right under any circumstances.

Robert M

8:34 AM, 12th May 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mick Roberts" at "12/05/2015 - 08:24":

You are very right Mick, all these comments saying to cut the Housing Benefit for people who can't work or can't find a job, which sounds great in theory, but nobody has yet answered the question of where the people are going to live. Or perhaps the people commenting above are suggesting euthansia for the unemployed???? - I guess that would lower the country's HB payments and help Cameron find that £12 billion he wants to cut from the welfare benefit system!!!

Mick Roberts

8:42 AM, 12th May 2015, About 9 years ago

How do u know they are taking home more than someone slogging their guts out all day?

I know from my experience, someone that works ‘takes home MORE’ than someone who don’t work.

I think everyone should go gym biking & swimming like me? Shall we punish them if they don’t?

Do we put every family homeless ‘cause they don’t slog their guts out all day?

These people don’t understand the market Rob with comments like Alans.

I & I’m sure u would love HB tenants to be responsible with money, so we could have less hassle housing them & collecting the rent. Fact is, we’re all different.

Alan Loughlin

8:50 AM, 12th May 2015, About 9 years ago

the present cap is equal to a gross salary of 29k far far too much.

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