Tories promise tenants choice

Author: The Guardian - Oct 22, 2009

Posted in: Planning, Housing and Economic Development / Reform of the social housing system / Local Government News

Tenants who receive local housing allowance to pay their rent will be able to choose to have their money paid directly to their landlord if the Conservatives win next year's general election.

Grant Shapps, shadow housing minister, will announce today at the Crisis national conference in Birmingham that a Conservative government will revert to the way housing benefits were handled before last year's government reforms, which were due to be reviewed before April 2010.

Until April last year tenants living in private rented accommodation and receiving housing benefit could choose whether to have those benefits paid to themselves or directly to their landlords. This meant those who lacked confidence in controlling their finances could hand over responsibility for paying their rent to their local authority: about 40% chose to do so.

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