The government is introducing big changes to the Universal Credit system which will now see a tenant's rent being paid directly to their landlord.
The controversial benefit currently sees a tenant being responsible for making their own rent payments to their landlord.
Now, the housing element of the benefit will be paid to the landlord when the claim begins – when it the tenant or landlord requests it.
The move follows research that most tenants said they would prefer to be reassured that their rent is paid on time to their landlord and have the right for this to happen.
Tenants said they struggled to budget
Part of that research also revealed that tenants said they struggled to budget to ensure they had enough money for meeting their rent.
And, according to Citizens Advice, most of the people who are seeking help from their advisers over Universal Credit claims are in rent arrears.
Fears over rent arrears and not being paid has led to growing numbers of landlords refusing to accept tenants who are in receipt of Universal Credit.
The new system will enable a private landlord to request that a tenant's rent be paid directly to them when a tenant moves in.
One firm that offers advice on Universal Credit and housing benefit to those in the rental sector told one news outlet that the paper forms take weeks to process and: "Many are lost along the way, while rent arrears mount up."
The spokeswoman added that by paying rent directly to a landlord will help speed up the process and "this is a welcome move".
Rents rise by 1.6% in a year
Meanwhile, research from HomeLet reveals that rents across the UK have risen by 1.6% over the past 12 months.
In their index, which uses data compiled by lets being agreed by agents and landlords using its referencing offering, shows that the average rent is now £934 per month.
With London rents taken out the equation, the average rent is £776 per month, a year-on-year rise of 1.7%.
The most expensive rents are found in London, where the average being paid is now £1,602 per month, a rise of 1%.
The region that saw the highest yearly increase is for tenants in Northern Ireland, where rents grew by 4.9%.
The only regions that saw rents decrease are for the Yorkshire and Humber and the North East regions.
