Housing allowance flexibility axed
The government’s Budget report paves the way for controversial cuts to its housing benefit regime.
From April next year, no claimants will be allowed any more local housing allowance than they have to pay in rent.
The current system, introduced last April, enables tenants to hang on to £15 per week of their allowance, if they successfully shop around for a lower rent than the local LHA rate.
The government estimated that the £15 shopping-around incentive would cost it £160 million this year.
Frank Newton, the Local Government Association’s benefit advisor, described the loss of the £15 a week shopping-around incentive for LHA claimants as a ‘bit disappointing’.
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Readers' comments (2)
Paul Robinson | 18/09/2009 9:52 am
the government have given loads of free money benefit claimants on the pilot schemes for the LHA so whats 15.00 per week!! - still dont think claimants so get something for nothing thou - and yes I am housing benefit officer
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Kitten | 22/09/2009 9:03 am
Where I live in a area full of HMOs the private L/Lords put there rents up from £75 a week to £90 and have filled there properties with Drugies Alcoholics and people with so called Mental Health problems, so the rents go direct to the L/Lord and the L/Lord gets a extra £15 a week on each flat. The peolple on minimum wage cannot afford the rents and have been driven out of the area we still have a few decent people left some are pensioners all now unhappy at the constant Anti Social Behavior day and night of the above mentioned tenants the only people I know who have had the benefit of the higher rents are the L/Lords. This is all Fact I could name names an addresses if I wanted to I know who they all are. Stop the £15 lower the rents and bring back the decent people
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