Council Tenants On Universal Credit 16 Times More Likely To Abandon Tenancies

Council tenants on Universal Credit are 16 times more likely to abandon their tenancies and three times more likely to be evicted than those receiving housing benefit, a new report has indicated. A survey of local authority landlords by the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) and the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) also revealed that the new welfare system is costing councils hundreds of thousands of pounds in extra housing management spending. It showed that two-thirds (67%) of council tenants receiving Universal Credit are currently in rent arrears, owing an average of £564 – equivalent to seven weeks’ rent. In comparison, 21% of households on housing benefit are in arrears, owing £221. Download the report from the ARCH website.

http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/media/130243/arch_nfa_universal_credit_survey_2019_v4_web.pdf

Council Plans To Strip Tenants Of Right To Buy

Lambeth Council has angered its residents and ministers by pledging to strip tenants of the Right to Buy when their homes are replaced during its largest-ever estate regeneration programme. The Labour-led south London authority has unveiled plans to shift tenants with ‘secure’ council tenancies to an ‘enhanced’ form of ‘assured lifetime’ tenancy when they move into replacement homes. According to council papers, the new tenancy will match those offered by councils “as closely as possible”. In addition to losing the Right to Buy, the new tenancy will exclude the ‘Right to Manage’, which allows tenants to take over the running of their homes and the ‘Right to Transfer’, used to trigger the transfer of homes to a housing association. Residents will also cease to be tenants of Lambeth Council once their homes are replaced. It is understood the social housing rent cut is therefore also unlikely to apply to HfL stock. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Associations Urge Benefit Claimants to Pay Extra Rent In Advance

People on benefits are being told by housing associations to make extra rent payments in advance from now on, to avoid ending up in financial difficulties and then in court once they are transferred to the new system of universal credit.  The instructions to people on housing benefit, which are causing alarm among tenants and charities, reflect concern among housing providers that people will default on payments when they have to pay rent themselves, a month in advance, under the new system.  The Town and Country housing association, which provides 9,000 affordable homes in 22 local authority areas has told its tenants who receive housing benefit to hand over £14.60 extra a month until they are a month in credit, so they can meet the first rent payment once they are on universal credit. If they do not, their tenancies could be in doubt. Read more on the Observer website.