Housing cuts ‘not a return to 1980s’

NEARLY 3,400 families in Oldham who will see their housing benefit cut have been told unless landlords cut their rent, they will have to make savings elsewhere.

Dramatic reforms mean the amount of support paid to all claimants will be limited to the bottom third of rented properties in the borough, sparking fears hundreds of tenants will be forced out of their homes.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, some 3,390 families in Oldham will be affected by the changes.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps defended the move saying it was not a return to the 1980s and that landlords would cut their rent.

If the rent was not lowered, families would have to make savings elsewhere, he added.

Mr Shapps said: “People will, in many cases, pitch in another £9 a week, by making changes elsewhere in their family budgets. Talk of these changes clearing out the cities is complete and utter nonsense.”

In Oldham, families living in a three-bedroom property would have to find an extra £419 a year if their rent was not lowered.

The amount people will be able to claim for a one-bedroom property in Oldham will be £80.55 (down £5.75 on current levels). It’s £97.81 for a two-bedroom property (down £5.75), £113.92 for a three-bedroom (down £8.05) and £143.84 for a four-bedroom property (down £11.50).

Mr Shapps said a discretionary fund would also be set up to allow special cases to be taken into account.

Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud said: “We saw rents going down because of a recession and we saw housing benefit payments going up. It is a bill that is out of control. We think we can put pressure back on the system to reverse some of the excessive gains.”

Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: “For a pensioner surviving on £98 a week, or those on the minimum wage of £218 a week, these losses represent a significant proportion of their income.”