March 1, 2011 |

Author Julie Hanson

The Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Welfare Reform Bill may bring social landlords more in line with the private rented sector.

This is according to Isabel Hardman, writing for Inside Housing, who made the claim after the DWP revealed only vulnerable tenants will have their benefit paid directly to landlords.

But the DWP maintained one of the principals of universal credit is to encourage tenants to manage their own income, despite social landlords campaigning for it to continue to be paid directly to them.

A spokesperson for the DWP said: “We intend to keep a facility within universal credit to pay landlords directly where absolutely necessary as we recognise the importance of stable rental incomes for social sector landlords.”

This subject could be a point of discussion at the Landlords Forum, which is set to be held by the National Landlords Association and the Mid Devon Council on March 8th.

Posted by Luella Ravelin, Simple Landlords Insurance