Landlord association hits back at Corbyn’s ‘misguided’ accusations

Landlord association hits back at Corbyn’s ‘misguided’ accusations

Todays other news
A formal consultation on sweeping planning reform comes next year...
The webinar aimed at landlords and letting agents is on...


The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has hit back at accusations made by Jeremy Corbyn in his Labour conference speech that private landlords are being subsidised by more than £9bn of housing benefit.

Corbyn attacked the Tory government’s record on housing and slammed the fact that official figures show that private landlords pocketed in the region of £9.3bn in housing benefit last year – double the amount they received a decade ago. 

The Labour leader (right) said: “Look what’s happened to housing under the Tories: housebuilding has fallen to its lowest level since the 1920s; home ownership is falling as more people are priced out of the market; evictions and homelessness go up every year; council homes are sold off without being replaced.

“And another consequence is that we’re paying over £9bna year to private landlords in housing benefit.

“Instead of spending public money on building council housing, we’re subsidising private landlords. That’s wasteful, inefficient, and poor government.”

But the RLA defended private landlords and the role that the private rented sector plays in providing people with much needed housing in this country. It was also quick to point out that total housing benefit spending for social rented tenants in 2014/15 hit £15.2bn, which was significantly more than the amount paid for those residing in the private rented sector, despite the private rental market being larger.

The RLA’s policy director, David Smith, said: “Millions of tenants rely on housing benefit in both the private and the social housing sectors, but proportionately far more is spent on social housing tenants than those in private accommodation.

“With the private rental market having doubled in size since 2002, it is inevitable that more housing benefit claimants will be living in the sector.”

Share this article ...

Join the conversation: Login and have your say

Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions. All comments are screened using specialist software and may be reviewed by our editorial team before publication. Landlord Today reserves the right to edit, withhold or delete comments that violate our guidelines, including those that harass, degrade, or intimidate others. Users who post such content may be banned from commenting.
By commenting, you agree to our Commenting Terms of Use.
Recommended for you
Related Articles
The latest NRLA partnership covers utility management in rental properties...
This is the latest bid by Airbnb to be seen...
£5.9 billion has been spent to purchase UK properties through...
A university lecturer claims Airbnb has damaged the housing market....
Council will pay part of tenants’ rent to private landlords...
A mortgage chief is warning that thousands of buy to...
The government says it will shortly start a formal consultation...
Recommended for you
Latest Features
There's a silver lining amidst the turbulence of being a...
Being lax on safety at Christmas can have disastrous consequences......
Experts give their views on the renovations that could add...
Sponsored Content

Send to a friend

In order to send this article to a friend you must first login. Click on the button below to login or sign up.

No one likes pop-ups ...
But while you're here