Debate on the shift from letting to benefit

The trend for landlords to shift away from renting to tenants on benefit has featured in various articles over the weekend, sparked by news that famed Kent landlord, Fergus Wilson has sent out two hundred notices to all of his existing tenants claiming benefit.

The Guardian warn that the situation might worsen with the introduction of Universal Credit, whilst the Telegraph makes a case that benefit tenants are still the most profitable sector of tenants.

The situation is not a straight forward one - profit and risk are intertwined.

Although yields remain relatively high for the benefit market, the risks still seem higher than other sector. With direct payments being ended to landlords, many of us are seeing an increase in rent defaults by those tenants on benefit. In another piece in the Telegraph, Fergus Wilson relayed how his benefit tenants now owed him £800,000 in rent.

Landlords will have their own opinion, based on their own experiences, but with the insecurity of an AST the rental market will be left to choose it's own balance.

It will be down to landlords to decide who they want to let to.

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