News from the Residential Property Investor, the bi-monthly magazine for RLA members other artilces from the December 2001 / January 2002 issue RPI news archive

'Joined up' thinking overdue - December 2001 / January 2002

When asked to decide on a challenge to the way the Rent Service had recalculated housing benefit in Stockport, the Court of Appeal agreed the calculation involved had been unlawful (Regina (Saadat and others) v The Rent Service). This was because the rent officer had used too wide a definition of 'locality' when seeking comparisons. The tenants involved were entitled to have their rents reset and the path was cleared for fairer rents for landlords and tenants on housing benefit.

However the Government decided that this would cost too much. Within two weeks of the decision it changed the definition of 'locality' by regulation ­ by issuing the statutory instrument The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Amendment) Order 2001. This means there will be little change to the Rent Service's behaviour and housing benefit rents will remain unrepresentative of market rents.

This is proof positive that you cannot change Government policy through legal action alone. We have seen this time and again with housing benefit. No matter how emphatically you prove the case, if the argument isn't won in open arena, it isn't won at all. It turns out to be a total waste of effort and money.

Meanwhile the Government isn't satisfied it is taking enough from property investors. Now it is proposing to remove the council tax concessions for empty property. This will hike up the costs of providing rented accommodation.

The economics of residential renting are simple. Increased costs and reduced rents lead to reduced investment and increased degeneration. Does the Chancellor really want to increase the tax take and public borrowing? Or when are we going to get some joined up thinking on the provision of rented accommodation for the 21st century?

Martin J Moylan
 

other artilces from the December 2001 / January 2002 issue

• 'Joined up' thinking overdue
• RLA launches assurance schemes
• Jail term for landlord who raped tenant
• Electronic gas certificates
• Byers promotes limited licensing
• 'Cancer risk' with roofing felt
• Government changes law to reverse court benefits loss
• Deprived areas have stamp duty 'abolished'
• Reader win rates refund
• In brief
• Evicting the 'Rigsby' image