Expert calls for change in LHA system

News Category: Industry News

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software

Changes to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) scheme are needed to ensure landlords get the cash that is rightfully theirs, it has been suggested.

Chris Jenkins, manager of commercial property firm Clarity Commercial, said that the programme that gives tenants cash in order to help with housing costs should pay landlords directly.

More needs to be done to promote the availability of the schemes as some people do not know they exist, he added.

"At the moment the only way that a landlord is allowed to take payment directly is if their tenant is two months in arrears and if this is the case it is unlikely that any landlord will allow the tenant to stay anyway," Mr Jenkins explained.

One of the initiatives tenants can make the most of is the system which sees local councils provide tenants with deposits for property, as long as the money is placed in a tenancy deposit scheme.

More landlords are accommodating tenants on benefits that they were this time last year, according to recent research from BDRC.

Find out more about letting agency software