As the impending Welfare Reform Bill and Housing Benefit changes draw ever closer, local authorities, tenants and landlords are becoming increasingly concerned of what the eventual outcome will be.
Warning to government
It is beyond doubt that the warnings from homeless charities such as Shelter, who say that well over 50,000 people may have to leave their homes when the new payments come into effect, are being taken seriously by Local Authorities whose job it will be to re-house them. The leaked letter from a government department worried about the same problem has panicked some in Whitehall, and political commentators are now pondering on whether we shall see yet another Government u-turn.
Change in age limit
The homeless figure may well be compounded by another part of the Welfare Reform changes that will see single people under the age of 35 only be paid benefit for renting out a room as opposed to a one bedroom flat. The cut in allowance will almost certainly mean many will have to leave their present home and landlords concerned about rent arrears accumulating from tenants on benefits are taking their own course of action irrespective of their landlord insurance policies.
Charity notices change in attitude
Thames Reach, a homeless charity that attempts to find homeless people in the London area safe accommodation, are reporting that private landlords are now reluctant to take on tenants under the age of 35. They are worried that in a few months time they won’t be able to afford the rent and this will mean the landlord will be looking at mounting arrears, a void period in his property or the worst case scenario, a claim on his property insurance when taking out an eviction order to get his property back. It is a risk some landlords are not prepared to take and who can blame them.
Lost opportunity
The demand for rented property is at its highest for years, and landlords are spoilt for choice. The Government lost a chance to redress the situation last month when they refused to give landlords the opportunity of getting direct payments from the state. They may come to rue that decision in the next 12 months as the homeless question becomes less of a debate and more of a crisis.