News from the Residential Property Investor, the bi-monthly magazine for RLA members other artilces from the August / September 2003 issue RPI news archive

Opposition to HB penalty plan - August / September 2003

Stopping housing benefit to 'anti-social' tenants would be 'discriminatory, ineffective and ill-conceived', a coalition of 27 organisations has told the Government.

Penalising anti-social tenants by stopping their housing benefit is just a tough sounding gimmick that will not solve the problem, said Shelter's director of external affairs Ben Jackson (right) when announcing the joint response. 'The people involved will continue to be shuffled around and continue to disrupt people's lives', he said.

What is needed, according to the consortium, is investment in programmes such as Shelter's Rochdale Inclusion Project and the Dundee Families Project that challenge behaviour and address the underlying causes.

Besides Shelter, the 27 organisations involved include the Law Society, the Chartered Institute of Housing, the Local Government Association, tenant organisations and special interest groups such as Help the Aged.

'I hope the Government sees sense and listens to all those who have spoken out against this proposal and realise that it is not part of the solution', said Jackson.

The Local Government Association branded the proposals included in the consultative paper Housing benefit sanctions and anti-social behaviour, as 'the worst form of knee jerk reaction to a complex problem'.

Among other objects, it concluded that 'private landlords may not want to rent to tenants on housing benefit if they feel threatened that this could be taken away'.

Far from helping eradicate anti-social behaviour the proposals are more likely to increase social problems. 'We are strongly urging the Government to drop these ill conceived plans and work with local government to develop better ways of dealing with anti-social behaviour for the benefit of all'.
 

other artilces from the August / September 2003 issue

• Accreditation the way forward
• Licensing should be 'unfettered'
• Avoiding unnecessary electrical shocks
• Renting is 'more acceptable' choice
• Opposition to HB penalty plan
• House prices continue to climb
• Landlord faces retrial over killing
• In brief
• Tenant wins right to set off
• Work / live development rules too rigid
• Urgent improvement needed to National Asylum Support Service