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   New Salford tenancy proposals for direct payments switch
A new type of agreement allowing tenants to pay the housing benefit element of their rent directly to their landlord should Universal Credit proposals materialise, is being considered by a Salford housing association. From 2013, the Government wants to pay the new Universal Credit – which will include housing benefit – directly to tenants in a single monthly payment. Currently social housing tenants get to choose whether they want their housing benefit paid directly to their landlord. The sector fears the new plans, however, will increase their arrears and will affect their preferential borrowing rates from banks. Yesterday Welfare reform minister Lord Freud refused to back calls to allow tenants the choice to have their benefit paid directly to their landlord, but repeated his commitment to safeguard landlords' income. However, City West Housing Trust – which owns and manages over 14,500 homes – said it is working with payment specialist allpay to investigate introducing a ‘synchronised account’ that would give tenants the option of paying their benefit through a third-party banking system. Tenants would be given the option of signing the new tenancy which would see an instant, automatic benefit payment being made directly to the Trust when the Universal Credit payment lands in their account each month. Matt Jones, head of housing and neighbourhoods at City West Housing Trust, said: “The implementation of Universal Credit has been a source of some concern for social landlords and their customers since the proposals were originally announced. “Tenants’ anxiety about not being given the choice of making direct payments to their landlord and our concerns around business planning and the impact this might have on our relationship with our funders are closely aligned. “We think that there is an opportunity for some creative approaches to new financial products in this area and we are working with allpay looking at the proposals they have been developing. “Although at an early stage, some of these innovative ideas look very promising in terms of supporting the implementation of Universal Credit whilst allowing customers to retain an element of choice and allowing housing providers and their funders to have greater financial confidence going forward. In September, the Welfare reform minister Lord Freud announced the Government was looking for six pilots to road test direct payments from next year in different regions of the country. It wants six councils and housing associations to test out safeguards for landlords and support mechanisms for tenants managing their budgets. It’s understood that more than 40 expressions of interest have been made to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including from London association Family Mosaic. City West Housing Trust has also expressed an interest in taking part in one of the six pilot projects. Mr Jones added: “Let me be clear, we support the principles behind the change around households accepting greater responsibility for household budgeting where they are able to do so; we understand the Government's attempts to align the receipt of benefits to the experience of receiving a salary; and, we acknowledge that simplifying the benefits system is long overdue. “There remain, however, some concerns around the detail of the proposals with tenants fearing a Universal Credit would lead to many struggling to pay their rents and ultimately risk losing their homes. “We have been proactively working in this area for some time, holding discussions with the National Housing Federation and the DWP, while managers in the business have been working hard to understand how Universal Credit will impact on our customers and business plan. “We have also been supporting our customers to make their voices heard around the proposals. Currently a petition is being gathered in an attempt to force a Parliamentary debate as we believe such an important issue warrants further discussion given there are potentially alternative methods available. “Whether or not we are selected to take part in the Government's demonstration project, we are committed to working closely with allpay and the DWP to turn these new solutions into a practical reality that will meet the needs of our customers, the principles of Universal Credit and the business needs of City West Housing Trust.” Source: 24Dash.com Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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