Private sector landlords will be able to receive housing benefit payments directly in return for reducing their rent under new regulations. Ministers also confirmed they are delaying cuts to housing benefit for existing claimants. They will give local authorities the temporary discretion to make direct payments to private sector landlords if they lower their rents. Existing housing benefit claimants will not receive any cuts at all until after January 2012, which the government says will give them time to adjust to reductions in their payments. The regulations also bring forward changes to the way local housing allowance is calculated from the median of local rents to those on the 30th percentile. This cut will come into force in April 2011, at the same time as caps to the amount of local housing allowance that can be paid per bedroom hit new claimants. It had previously been scheduled for October 2011. Read more on Inside Housing.
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