New Rules April 2011 Direct Payment

The Department for Work and Pensions are implementing significant reformsto Housing Benefit that impact on all social landlords.

Councils will be requesting landlords who rent to Housing Benefit claimants to reduce the rent they charge and in return the rent will be paid direct to the landlord. Should the landlord not accept the lower rent then the money will be paid direct to the Tenant.

The key objectives are:

To exert a downward pressure on rents for tenants claiming Housing Benefit from April 2011 when changes to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates take effect.
These changes will come into affect immediately for new customers who claim from 1 April 2011. Existing customers (tenants) will normally have up to nine months from the anniversary of their claim on or after 1 April 2011 to give them time to make alternative arrangements if necessary.
The sting in the tale - or where councils may apply pressure to the landlord. Direct payment can only be made where the tenant is able to retain or secure a tenancy if the rent is at a level considered affordable whilst in receipt of Housing Benefit. If the tenant continues to have a shortfall which they cannot meet they will be unlikely to be able to meet their rental commitment and will be at risk of eviction. In these circumstances, they will not be able to retain the tenancy and so the safeguard will not apply. (The 8 weeks in arrears still applies).
For existing tenants, the Council will need to confirm that there has been a genuine reduction in the rent charged by the landlord and that the reduced contractual rent is in the tenancy agreement. In the majority of cases, this will need to be a reduction to the relevant LHA rate. it is implicit that the rent should be affordable to the tenant. (This means acceptance of the new lower reduced LHA rents)
For Local Housing allowance rates, click here.

The outlook for the future. The rent will continue to be paid direct to the landlord where it is deemed the rent is affordable. However should Local Housing Allowance rates reduce by a further 8% next year does this mean Landlords will need to accept a further reduction or will they pay the tenant direct at a time where the tenants are likely to see their benefits also reduce?

18 March 2011
07:08

Japan quake: Power line laid to Fukushima nuclear plant

Engineers at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have managed to lay a cable to reactor 2, the UN's nuclear watchdog reports.

Restoring power should enable engineers to restart the pumps which send coolant over the reactor.

Workers at Fukushima have been battling to prevent fuel in the reactors from overheating since Friday's magnitude 9.0 quake and subsequent tsunami.

The confirmed death toll from the disaster has risen above 5,600.

More than 9,500 people are missing and tens of thousands of people are living in temporary shelters.

17 March 2011
15:18

Japan steps up cooling operation

Helicopters undertake water spraying to cool nuclear reactors

Japan says it is stepping up efforts to cool reactors at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Army helicopters dumped tonnes of water to try to prevent a meltdown of fuel rods. Water cannon are set to join the operation on the ground and it is hoped electricity will be restored soon.

Increasing alarm has been expressed in the US at the crisis.

The confirmed death toll from Friday 9.0 magnitude quake, which triggered a tsunami, has risen above 5,000.

Police say 5,178 are confirmed dead and another 8,606 people are still missing.

03 March 2011
15:11

Bahrain unrest: Opposition arrests follow crackdown

Authorities in Bahrain have arrested at least five key opposition figures, a day after a crackdown on anti-government protesters in the centre of the capital Manama, reports say.

The streets are said to be calm but extremely tense, with soldiers patrolling after an overnight curfew.

Correspondents say the opposition, which is seeking political reform, has gone to ground to plan its next move.

At least three civilians and three police died in Wednesday’s violence.

Matar Ibrahim, a former opposition MP from Bahrain’s Shia majority who recently resigned in protest at the crackdown, told the BBC the government was completely ignoring the message from the US that it was on the wrong track.

The US state department has criticised the use of excessive force and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for dialogue.