Housing benefit cuts are on the way

[carly83]

Well I meant in general I can afford £5 a week extra but if theres an OAP on a low pension and hardly recieving any income they would have difficulty paying extra, I mean the place I live in is VERY cheap for whitby, the usual rent for a 1 bed property in Whitby is in excess of £150 a week so now work out, 80 rent from LHA, they then need to find £70 a week top up and if your on benefits (which obviously you would be to claim HB & C/tax) you would need to pay £120 extra out of your JSA which could ruin most peoples living expenses.

 

See where I'm coming from now?

 

actually you can be working but on a wage low enough to qualify for some hb/ctb without being on other benefits (income support/jsa/incapasity etc)

[Cyclone]

Maybe it will encourage someone to go and get a job then.

[Glennis]

They live in a house but the drawback is they have to go out and work and get a wage to pay for the house like a lot of people in this country have to.

 

But where are the jobs with the wages good enough to pay the rent?

[S10er]

“Cottoning on” to rents charged by private landlords is not the point. Private landlords have to buy property at current market prices. Despite recent drops property prices are still high. Private landlords often take mortgages to buy properties and they are business people. Their aim is to make a profit or a long term capital gain. Their aim is different from local authorities or housing associations. Rightly so. Why should private landlords provide subsidised accommodation to those on housing benefit?

 

The real point is how come so much tax payers' money is being wasted on paying housing benefits. The UK is no longer a rich country. We cannot afford to subside accommodation for those who cannot pay.

 

Recent cases in the papers have shown that shocking amounts are being wasted on housing benefit - up to £4,000 per week. I'm sure the figures aren't as high in Sheffield buit still I sure there should be a thorough review to cut waste. This is tax payers' very hard earned money that is being wasted at the cost of essential services which WILL be cut. Life it tough for all and about to get tougher for us all I - even those on housing benefit.

[kipper]

Housing benefit cuts should be the last in line as so many people rely on this to keep a roof over their heads.

 

I would think a clearer fit for purpose examination of the rented property would be better and then given a licence to house a calculated number of people with certain circumstances.

 

Often no inspection is undertaken and the system is undermined and exploited. Irregular inspections should be made to make sure the conditions of tenancy are met.

 

This would save more money than merely cutting the payments across the board.

[S10er]

Housing benefit cuts should be the last in line as so many people rely on this to keep a roof over their heads.

 

I would think a clearer fit for purpose examination of the rented property would be better and then given a licence to house a calculated number of people with certain circumstances.

 

Often no inspection is undertaken and the system is undermined and exploited. Irregular inspections should be made to make sure the conditions of tenancy are met.

 

This would save more money than merely cutting the payments across the board.

 

What you say makes sense Kipper if we were in a country which could afford this kind of huge scale charity. If the measures you suggest had been implemented a few years ago perhaps we would,kt be in such a financial mess now.

 

Unfortunately there has been far too much unchecked abuse of the housing benefits system. As the country can now longer afford to go on draining so much money there will inevitably be a hard review of the benefits system.

 

I don't think it can be right for tax payers' money to be wasted in such an unchecked way. Everyone has to start recognising that they have to support themselves. The days of the “nanny state” must, please, be numbered. Life's tough for everyone and only the exceptional few should expect state support for everything.

[Cyclone]

Remember that the result of these cuts in Sheffield is that relatively few people will be affected and that the amount that is cut is quite small. If they can't meet the extra themselves then they will be able to find alternate accommodation that is within the HB rate.

[L00b]

“Cottoning on” to rents charged by private landlords is not the point. Private landlords have to buy property at current market prices. Despite recent drops property prices are still high. Private landlords often take mortgages to buy properties and they are business people. Their aim is to make a profit or a long term capital gain. Their aim is different from local authorities or housing associations. Rightly so. Why should private landlords provide subsidised accommodation to those on housing benefit?

Sense, and a lot of it.

 

The problem, as I see it, is how many private landlords -as a proportion of the total offer- bought at the height of the property bubble ('speculated') and are not willing to rent out below a basic repayment threshold (the mortgage repayment amount)?

 

For property A bought 20 years ago as a rental with a current net cost of e.g. 100 per month (indicia), the neighbouring (exact same) property B may have been bought 5 years ago as a rental, but with a current net cost of 300 per month (higher purchase value = higher mortgage). Property A has a long way to go before being unprofitable, property B a lot less, if cuts drive down the rental yield.

 

If the market is mostly made of B-type properties, the rent market is unlikely to come down quick enough (which is desirable, to match the Gvt's planned/proposed cuts, so that every tenant still has a roof on their head).

 

Of course, the alternative for the landlord to accepting a cut in rental amount, is to have an empty rental property and no return whatsoever.

[Cyclone]

or to rent to the private market, which probably suits them fine.

[L00b]

or to rent to the private market, which probably suits them fine.

For a private landlord, I shouldn't think there is any difference between the 'private' market and the 'part-state-sponsored' market. Asking rental price is (should be) the same.