Money on the move

Welfare reform calendar 2011 – 2013

The Welfare Reform Bill is about to receive royal assent and will radically alter the benefits system. Now the government has beaten the Lords, Carl Brown explains why it is important that landlords prepare for the changes

Top to bottom

MPs attack coalition welfare plans

A communities and local government committee report on the coalition’s Welfare Reform Bill has called for councils to retain administrative responsibility for housing benefit.

Master of the universal

Lord David Freud is behind the biggest shake-up of the welfare system since World War Two. Here, in his first in-depth interview, he reveals the motives behind his radical reforms to Carl Brown

Direct action

Off the debt hook

Arrears are irrelevant to possession proceedings if they form part of a bankruptcy order, explains Helen Tucker, partner at Anthony Collins Solictiors

Bright ideas

Elderly and disabled people don’t have to live with ugly adaptations to their homes. Katie Puckett finds out about a contest shining a light on good design

Open-door policy

Allowing private landlords to validate local housing allowance claims can help councils simplify their procedures and cut their housing waiting lists. Neil Merrick heads to Derbyshire to find out how

Missing contractual targets

Housing benefit caps could put landlords providing rent collection services at financial risk says, David Isaacson, director at Cobbetts

Cheated out of their savings

Abusive financial practices targeting the elderly are on the rise, but so are measures to protect vulnerable housing association residents. Alex Turner reports