Universal Credit – Letting Focus

Universal Credit Not Working Well in Private Rented Sector

October 14, 2018 David Lawrenson Leave a comment

Universal Credit Not Working ALMOST two-thirds of private landlords with tenants receiving Universal Credit have experienced them going into rent arrears according to new research by the Residential landlords association, says David Lawrenson of LettingFocus.com Based on responses from over 2,200 landlords, the Residential Landlord Association has found that 61 per cent of landlords with tenants on Universal Credit have experienced […]

General

Private Rented Sector Quoted in the Media

April 28, 2015 David Lawrenson Leave a comment

Recent press comments from me on the private rented sector….. Private Rented Sector Quoted in the Media On the policies of successive governments towards the private rented sector: “….Too often policy is confused and contradictory and too often the changes that have been made offer far too little to landlords and tenants in terms of improving the private rented sector.” […]

Immigration, Housing Benefits and Private Landlords

January 9, 2014 David Lawrenson

It seems the media are finally having a proper and mature debate about immigration – even the BBC is now doing it, without fearing that by even questioning the extent of immigration the dear BEEB could themselves be labelled as racist. It has taken many years for all in the media to have a sensible debate about this big issue, […]

About Turn on Universal Credit Payments is Coming

April 23, 2013 David Lawrenson

David Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com says that among the mandarins at the DWP, the penny may be finally dropping about Universal Credit Housing Benefit payments. Here, he proposes a more sensible alternative. It’s Groundhog Day all over again. You may remember the famous film starring Bill Murray about a TV weatherman who was forced to relive a single day until he […]

Mortgage Loans and Housing Benefit and Why a Selective Approach is the Better Option

March 13, 2013 David Lawrenson

David Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com observes the latest mortgage lender U turn on allowing landlords to let to housing benefit tenants, but says that rather than a “blanket” approach of either allowing or not allowing landlords to do this, a better way would be if lenders “selectively” allowed it – with the decision linked to other variables such as landlord experience […]

Local Housing Allowance and More Changes to Policy

January 23, 2013 David Lawrenson

David Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com explains the “work arounds” and the sleights of hand involved in the latest changes in Local Housing Allowance funding. The government has just voted to cap rises in several benefits, including local housing allowance (LHA) base rates, at the lower of 1% or the 30th percentile of local rents – which means that in practice, in […]

Universal Credit the Private Rented Sector and a Sense of Groundhog Day

October 18, 2011 David Lawrenson

Summary: The government’s plan to normally pay the Local Housing Allowance part of the planned Universal Credit to tenants (not to landlords) reminds us of the film “Groundhog Day”. Haven’t we been here before and did we not learn from what happened last time? The Universal Credit was first announced at the Conservative Party Conference in 2010, though the idea […]