4 Families Net 400K In Housing Aid....

[newbonic]

For anyone that doubts that the benefits system needs a total overhaul, the Sunday Times has run a double page spread with a story highlighting the insane rents that the taxpayer shells out to house large families on benefits in London;

• Single mother of 7 kids, Acton = £12,458 a month
• Family, 7 kids, Kensington = circa £8,000 pm
• Single mother of 8 kids, Notting Hill = £7,600 pm
• Single mother of 7, Maida Vale = £7,000 pm

• Total = £35.1k per month

Most of the families identified by the ST article are immigrants, so this level of largesse must be a significant pull to the UK to up demand even further (if the alternative is a breeze block flat in Somalia or Afghanistan).

New rules are due to be fully implemented by October 2011 that will cap maximum tax payer funded rents to be the cheapest 3rd in an area. Although if they still choose places like Kensington then I'd imagine that a 4 or 5 bed house in South Ken would still be mind melting expensive.

It goes on to say that the (unambitious IMO) target is to shave less than 10% (£1.8bn) off the Housing Benefits bill of £21.2 billion, to get it to a mere £19.4 bn.

Still, that's presumably a fair chunk of £1.8bn less in the pockets of the BTL folk.

Just part of the insanity of the Blair/Brown years that has be to fixed.

[Errol]

Most of the families identified by the ST article are immigrants

Start with these people. I'd put them on the first plane/boat back to wherever they came from. No investigation, no appeal and NO MORE BENEFITS.

[Bloo Loo]

immigrants or not, this is just plain wrong.

[jaynewcastle]

Doesn't matter if they're English or foreign, this is just plain crazy & has to be stopped

.

[@contradevian]

Start with these people. I'd put them on the first plane/boat back to wherever they came from. No investigation, no appeal and NO MORE BENEFITS.

along with the private landlords pocketing the cash, and being London they will undoubtably be foreign too!. Come to the UK FREE MONEY!

[newbonic]

along with the private landlords pocketing the cash, and being London they will undoubtably be foreign too!. Come to the UK FREE MONEY!

Actually, I wondered how many of these top of the market BTLs are financed by London based banker's (boooooo) bonuses ; although from the stories on here and elsewhere a hell of a lot of London properties are being bought by foreign investors to.

[Goat]

along with the private landlords pocketing the cash, and being London they will undoubtably be foreign too!. Come to the UK FREE MONEY!

Do you expect them to provide the accomodation for free?

It's not their fault that the HB system is insane.

[Mrs Bear]

Best quote of the article IMO is from Philippa Roe, Westminster Council's cabinet member for housing. She blames central government for allowing families on housing benefit "to live in some of the most expensive real estate in the world at the taxpayer's expense.'"

Good to see this in the Sunday Times, rather than just Mail/Express. But the more all the papers keep stirring up IMO entirely justifiable outrage, and keeping the pressure up, the better.

If the tabloids hadn't previously banged on so hard about this, and risked p*ssing off even diehard Labour voters, I doubt Caroline Flint would ever even have considered capping the more ludicrous levels of HB.

Edited October 10, 2010 by Mrs Bear

[Protect Rural England]

along with the private landlords pocketing the cash, and being London they will undoubtably be foreign too!. Come to the UK FREE MONEY!

Quite a few of the private BTL landlords are elected councillors.

And the maintenance for said HA goes to the relations of the elected representatives.

East Herts District Council is shockingly bad in this respect

[Realistbear]

For anyone that doubts that the benefits system needs a total overhaul, the Sunday Times has run a double page spread with a story highlighting the insane rents that the taxpayer shells out to house large families on benefits in London;

• Single mother of 7 kids, Acton = £12,458 a month
• Family, 7 kids, Kensington = circa £8,000 pm
• Single mother of 8 kids, Notting Hill = £7,600 pm
• Single mother of 7, Maida Vale = £7,000 pm

• Total = £35.1k per month

Most of the families identified by the ST article are immigrants, so this level of largesse must be a significant pull to the UK to up demand even further (if the alternative is a breeze block flat in Somalia or Afghanistan).

New rules are due to be fully implemented by October 2011 that will cap maximum tax payer funded rents to be the cheapest 3rd in an area. Although if they still choose places like Kensington then I'd imagine that a 4 or 5 bed house in South Ken would still be mind melting expensive.

It goes on to say that the (unambitious IMO) target is to shave less than 10% (£1.8bn) off the Housing Benefits bill of £21.2 billion, to get it to a mere £19.4 bn.

Still, that's presumably a fair chunk of £1.8bn less in the pockets of the BTL folk.

Just part of the insanity of the Blair/Brown years that has be to fixed.

I was watching an epsiode from the Sopranos awhile back and remember a scam being pulled by the lads in conjunction with a local government person that involved renting slums at sky high rents that were payola for the family.

The "landlords" who are receiving these mega rents might need to be looked into as it may throw up some surprising names.

[wonderpup]

But this same paper will greet a fall in housing prices as a national disaster won't it? So what's their position- are housing costs in the UK too high or not?

Not much point bleating on about the small number cases where large families are creating a problem when the the real problem is the insane cost of housing anyone in this country.

I blame the scapegoats myself- who are they this week?

[OnlyMe]

But this same paper will greet a fall in housing prices as a national disaster won't it? So what's their position- are housing costs in the UK too high or not?

Not much point bleating on about the small number cases where large families are creating a problem when the the real problem is the insane cost of housing anyone in this country.

I blame the scapegoats myself- who are they this week?

It is not just the large families though is it? It is all the way down the scale, it is all overpriced (and unaffrodable), the taxpayer foots the bill.

Edited October 10, 2010 by OnlyMe

[papag]

It is not just the large families though is it? It is all the way down the scale, it is all overpriced (and unaffrodable), the taxpayer foots the bill.

Yep people are sick to the teeth of our money being spent in this way ,if the Condems dont sort this out and I mean sort out not a small reduction I fear politics and fairness will be lost in this country for ever, if it already hasnt been

[TheLine]

Quite a few of the private BTL landlords are elected councillors.

And the maintenance for said HA goes to the relations of the elected representatives.

East Herts District Council is shockingly bad in this respect

Not that it's illegal or anything of course, but wouldn't it be interesting to have a list of BTL landlords in London and who they are and what the do for a living. I wonder if we have a few working for housing authorities...

[Mrs Bear]

But this same paper will greet a fall in housing prices as a national disaster won't it? So what's their position- are housing costs in the UK too high or not?

Not much point bleating on about the small number cases where large families are creating a problem when the the real problem is the insane cost of housing anyone in this country.

It's not just house prices, though - even if prices fell 50% tomorrow, there would still be relatively very expensive areas and cheaper ones.

And it would still be wrong IMO for people who are not self-supporting to be able to choose to live in the most expensive areas at someone else's expense.

I'm not saying they should all be shoved off into the very grottiest areas, either, but at the moment the balance has swung far too much the other way.

[newbonic]

OP, any chance of you scanning in the article for us to read? Would love to have a gander. Thanks.

Don't have access to a scanner at the mo, sorry. I assume it would be a breach of copyright anyway - not that it stops usually people cutting and pasting huge slabs of text from newspapers!

[MrPin]

And it would still be wrong IMO for people who are not self-supporting to be able to choose to live in the most expensive areas at someone else's expense.

I do agree Mrs Bear! I think if you are unwaged, well that is something you could do anywhere! Although Winchester is nice!

As a previous poster mentioned, I do wonder who the landlords are!