Why Landlords Are Shunning Profitable Benefit Tenants

Britain’s army of 1.4million private landlords are upbeat about 2014, expecting further price rises and rent increases. But in what is a growing political controversy – and a logistical nightmare for local authorities needing to house residents – private landlords are increasingly refusing to let property to tenants on benefits. Mortgage lenders and insurers are also growing wary. According to the National Landlords’ Association (NLA), the biggest organisation representing buy-to-let investors, the proportion of landlords prepared to accept tenants receiving LHA has more than halved in three years. In mid-2010, 46pc of the NLA’s members let to tenants who received the benefit. By late last year this had dropped to 22pc, with the NLA commenting that the “decline steepened during 2013”. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.