Housing Benefit

Dear Editor


I do not know where your last weeks anonymous contributor get his information from he maintains that Landlords who have a Buy to Rent Mortgages will no longer be able to pay their mortgage because the government have recalculated the interest payments given to those who claim unemployment or sickness benefit. Most people’s interest rates are linked to the Bank rate so interest is very low and will fluctuate; my interest rate has nothing to do with Swale Borough Council. Although I am sorry for your illness I must ask the question why should the Council Tax payer help buy your house? Surely you should have made provision for the fact that you could get unemployed or ill? For a short time it makes sense for the Council to help with your interest because it may be cheaper then paying your rent on a house but may be the time has come for you to sell up and rent a flat, just because you have been a Tax Payer doesn’t mean you are entitled to have your house bought for you. Let’s be quite honest all this hype about Housing Benefit and the rent prices is nonsense for us in Swale, I rent out flats from £380 to £500 for one bedroom flats and I have one unemployed tenant who gets all his rent paid for. Remember they government have said a maximum of £250 per week for a flat and £400 per week for a house now tell me who pays that sort of money in Swale?

Yet after condemning your writer I can understand his anger and frustration when he sees Billons of Pounds going to pay Ireland’s debt and prop the EURO a currency which we are not even involved with and see EU MP’s getting a £3000 a year rise and the President will get a £12000 a year rise Your writer interest rates are small beer as per usual the Politicians will tell us to tighten our belts but they open their own as they get fatter especially those in the EU



Martin Clarke Sittingbourne