Energy bill support demonising landlords

RESPONDING to news that the Government plans to legislate to ensure landlords pass on the Energy Bills Support Scheme discount to tenants paying all-inclusive rents, Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association, said:

“Given payments under the support scheme have not begun to be made, the Government’s plans to legislate are premature and are demonising landlords unnecessarily.  It sends a dangerous and misleading message that landlords cannot be trusted to do the right thing, creating needless fear and anxiety for tenants.

“The reality is that one-off pots of money like this cannot compensate for the fact that the benefits system is systematically failing to protect the most vulnerable tenants. At a time when households finances are being squeezed it makes no sense to have frozen housing benefit rates.”