As details of the Government’s new procedures for universal credit payments are revealed, Belvoir Sheffield, leading letting agent in Sheffield is warning that it could turn out to be another attempt to make life difficult for the residential landlord.
Under the new plans, the landlord’s right to insist on direct rent payments if a tenant is in arrears will no longer remain, and instead the onus will be on the tenant to pay the landlord themselves. The new procedures will apply across the board to local authority tenants, housing association tenants and tenants in the private rented sector, meaning that all landlords will be affected by these new changes.
Rick Flay, Director at Belvoir Sheffield, who offer a wide range of property to rent in Sheffield, said: “The Government is making things very difficult for the residential landlord and more control is being taken away from them.
The RLA earlier this week backed the fears raised by Belvoir, and stated that the new proposals ‘contain no ‘backstop’ provision under which a landlord can demand payment direct, they give no means of redress for landlords if things go wrong, and there are no rights of appeal, so the whole concept of trying to improve tenant’s responsibility comes at the cost of much greater risk to landlords with strong likelihood of significantly higher arrears.’
Rick, whose letting agency on Campo Lane in Sheffield, specialises in providing flats to let in Sheffield added: “Under the new plans, it is much less likely that landlords will be willing to take on benefit claimants. This could even translate into less likelihood of willingness to take on claimants who are in work especially part time work because the same rules will apply to them.
Richard Jones, the RLA’s policy director, earlier this week, said: “We strongly believe that the Government’s whole approach is flawed and although the objective of helping tenants manage their financial affairs is in isolation a laudable one, the Government has wholly failed to appreciate the consequences of this.”
Rick continued: “There will be an influx of landlords who will be unsure of how this effects them and their rights, so this will require clarification. I would advise any landlord unsure of how this will affect them to contact us at Belvoir Letting Agents Sheffield for expert advice.”
