As I have said before
I am completely behind Ian Duncan Smith and his approach to welfare reform
especially the so-called Bedroom Tax. This is nothing to do with people who own
their house or rent on the private sector and are working. It concerns those that
are on benefit especially housing benefit. Lets take an example of a single
person living in a 3 bedroom house and receiving Housing benefit of say £700
pcm, why should the tax payer pay for them to have a house of this size when a one bedroom Flat would suffice at a price of say £480 pcm? This individual would
be better of because their utility bills would be far cheaper, plus us taxpayer
would be better of and house could be released for a Family.
Now there will be
always exception to the rules but this is mainly geared to get the sponges in
our society back to realizing they cannot continue to live of the state. In my
opinion Housing Benefit is a hand out for those who have hit hard times and is
not a right.
After saying my piece
I do have one problem with the proposed legislation and That is where Housing
Benefit Claimants will not have the their rent sent straight to the Landlord.
This will eventually lead to a lot more homeless people and a lot of
aggravation for Landlords.
As a Landlord I try
and avoid renting to those on benefit but over recent years many of my tenants
have lost jobs and therefore claim housing benefit. Where as 5 years ago I had
one tenant on benefit I now have six. Three of them have their benefit paid to
me direct, most pay approximately the same rent but each get a different rate
from the council? Most have to top up their rent i.e. one flat is £480 pcm and
he receives £460 pcm so he has to pay me £20 pcm and I struggle to get that
most times he pays me when the next £20 is due so he is permanently a month
behind another is several hundreds of pound behind and pays me back £10 pcm. So
I am a bit soft but I know I will get the money and the latter has just started
a job.
Yet on one occasion I
really got caught and this where the problem is when you housing benefit are
not paid to the Landlord. I allowed a women in her forties to rent a flat who
shall we say was a bit slow, her mother begged me to take her on which I did
and straight away she stopped paying the rent but the mother would pay it for
her. After nearly 6 months of this the mother had enough and stopped and then
the problem really mounted up. She had been receiving housing benefit but was
spending it in the pub, when I asked for the rent she would just say “you will
have to do with out I have spent it on more important things” I contacted the
council they would only say they issued the money and it was down to me to
collect it, eventually I contacted the Police and suggested it was fraud? Oh no
if she received the money and intended to pay me but got way laid into a pub it
was not fraud. So my next move was to take her to court this could take up to 6
months even longer in some cases and while that was happening she would not be
paying rent and by this time she owed me £1440. The cheapest way to get rid of
her was to say if she left with in a few days I would for go her debt, she
laughed and said yes. She did not realize the only she was standing and not lying
on her back unconscious was because she was female (of a sort). She had in my opinion stolen
money from the Council and nothing was done
So lesson leant avoid
taking on people who are on benefit, always check references, make them pay an
admin fee, make the rent payable to you direct and never and I mean never
listen to a hard luck story
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