Buy to let landlords 'need LHA to be revised'

08 December 2009

Written by Gavin Elley

Buy to let mortgage holders and other landlords, as well as the tenants they rent out property to, are "losing out" under the current Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rules.

That is the view of National Landlords Association (NLA) chairman David Salusbury, who has suggested that the government needs to bring forward its prospective review of the housing benefit scheme.

According to the NLA, rent arrears in the UK could be as high as £220 million and a number of landlords are being put under financial pressure due to tenants failing to pass on rent money from the LHA initiative.

"If ministers are serious about the importance of the contribution the private rented sector makes to the housing mix, then tenants' right to choose to have their housing benefit paid direct to their landlords must be reinstated immediately," said Mr Salusbury.

Issues concerning landlords and the LHA scheme were discussed at the NLA National Conference in Birmingham last month.

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