Understanding The Pros And Cons Of Housing Benefit: A Study On The Costs And Reduction Of Claims

Meaning of Housing Benefit

Context: Background of the research

The housing benefit can be considered to be a way of enumerating benefits that can make certain that employees in identical situations in identical areas accept the same amount of financial support for bearing costs of housing. In essence, these  of presenting novel claims for the housing benefit and for the purpose of existing claimants (Reeves et al. 2016). The rates of housing benefit that are ascertained by rent officers are intended to replicate the areas in which individuals stay and access services. There are numerous dimensions that affect the housing benefit includes the altering basis for the purpose of establishing LHA rates, capping along with updating of rates (Wilcox 2014).

Research Aim

The aim of the current research study is to comprehend improvement of lessening the costs of housing benefit. The present study at hand helps in comprehending the pros and cons of provisions of housing benefits for meeting claims of the customers on exchequer of real estate firm and subsequently on the overall nation.  

Research Objectives

The specific objectives of the current research are:

• To analytically examine the ways to lessen total number of individuals claiming specific benefits
• To critically assess the effects of provision of housing benefit on overall economic condition of the nation

Research Question

The research questions that are framed for the current study include the following:

What are the ways to decrease the overall claims of benefits by the customers in real estate firms?

What are the impacts of provision of housing benefits on overall economic situation of the entire nation?

Research Problem

The changes in housing benefits have decreased financial support and thereby enhancing precariousness of overall situations of housing thereby exposing the same to higher insecurity as well as potential homelessness (Powell 2015). The reforms to homelessness allowances enhance the level of depression symptoms among recipients of the housing benefits and this essentially counteract different initiatives of the policy in different areas that were formulated to decrease reliance on disability beliefs by decreasing overall generosity of incapacity advantages. However, in the upcoming period, different policy makers have the need to attend to specific spill over effects of different interventions of policy that are implemented simultaneously. Also, the costs borne in treating individual suffered from ill mental health might perhaps offset savings ensuing from decreasing the housing benefit (Hernández and Phillips 2015). Therefore, it is important to study overall impact of reductions of housing benefit in a specific business entity and the entire nation.

Significance of the research

The current study can help in understanding the way housing benefit allowances can deliver shelter along with security, shielding health along with well-being. This study therefore can help in understanding different difficulties in acquiring affordable housing are related to greater rate of risks of physical as well as mental health (Hamnett 2014). Nevertheless, nature of association and the causal between unaffordable housing and physical as well as mental health remains unclear. Prior studies assessing the association have failed to detect and address different reasons why households suddenly start thriving to subsisting housing commitments. Essentially, housing might possibly become unaffordable owing to increasing costs, namely enhancements in interest rates of mortgages or else rent or else due to decrease in earnings by means of loss of job, decrease in welfare (Somerville 2016). On the other hand, governing bodies also benefitted from decrease in housing benefits that is considered as one of the largest contributions to decrease in spending of the corporation.

Influence of Housing Benefit Customers

Brief overview of literature 

Meaning of Housing benefit

As rightly suggested by Ward (2015), housing benefit can present a considerable contribution towards the rent.  It can be observed that each and every claim of housing benefit can be said to be different and the entitlement is said to be founded on the rent disbursement, earnings counting any other benefits received, savings received, and personal along with family circumstances. Thomson and Thomas (2015) assert that housing benefit aids individuals in disbursing rent and thereby enhances their standard of living. There are several criteria based on which housing benefit can be acquired that is the eligibility criteria for acquirement pf the housing benefit. Also, there are facets that can support the claim. There are regulations of the housing benefit that signify that housing benefit is usually available to the ones who are accountable to disburse rent. As suggested by Stewart and Obolenskaya (2015), housing benefit can satisfy overall costs of rent and central to benefit decisions is necessarily an analysis of specifically eligible as well as ineligible services. Gilbert and Van Voorhis (2017) say that eligible rent is particularly that fraction of the rent disbursed by an individual that can legally covered by housing benefit. On the other hand, ineligible rent comprises of different things namely heating costs,  costs incurred for meals, costs of water as well as costs incurred for general counselling along with support that might perhaps be included in the rent that is charged, but shall not be satisfied by the provision of the housing benefit.

Influence of housing benefit customers

The current segment concentrates on influence of different dimensions on recipients of benefits. The declared influence delivers detailed evaluation counting the influence of each and every individual in isolation and a collapse at regional level (De Agostini et al.  2015). The loss of housing benefit to customers can lead to decrease in disposable income that can influence capability of tenant to disburse rents.

Influence of housing benefit on housing departments

local authorities  have necessarily a statutory duty that can secure accommodation for different applicants that are essentially homeless although there remains no mistake of their own and are eligible for assistance and are within a priority requirement need cluster. The priority requirement takes in families with dependent children and individuals who are vulnerable for specific reasons. The provision of transitional guard shall provide different customers affected by these alterations requisite time to plan for a decrease in benefit entitlement (Stephens and Whitehead 2014). In essence, it is possible that without guidance as well as support some of the households might perhaps fail to formulate plans for the future period or else be unable to get accommodation. The housing authority can necessarily promote intervention and provide assistance to different customers by way of helping different clients negotiate down the requisite rent to a particular level that is covered by the local housing allowance rate, assisting to move to a specific affordable property, delivering a temporary top up of the specific rent utilizing discretionary housing payment to permit a breathing space in which a specific move can be properly arranged (Cappellari and Jenkins 2014).  

Influence of Housing Benefit on Housing Departments

Impact of housing benefit on services of health as well as social services

The effects of health of housing benefit can probably vary across different regional authorities. This can specifically be huge where essentially rents are quite high and where the fractions of recipients of housing benefit is necessarily large (Lund 2017). There are evidences that show that diminished housing benefit over the period of time indicate the health impacts of enhancing financial strain among recipients of housing benefit.

It is important to take into account the fact that housing benefit alterations are likely to influence the social practices. Also, families and individuals who are accepting both help and support from social as well as children divisions might face the requirement to move that might perhaps engage social service departments for assistance owing to reduction of the housing benefit. Therefore, alterations to the overall housing benefit can enhance overall frequency of different moves made. Therefore, these alterations in housing benefit can direct the way towards disruptions in health as well as social factors (Murie 2016). Furthermore, the government also presents provisions for disbursement for different cases that are assessed under the regional housing allowance arrangement to permit local authorities to take into account disbursing Housing Benefit  straight to the landlords if that would enable the customers to secure otherwise retain a tenancy. However, this can strengthen different tools that are available to different regional authorities in their activities to provide shelter to all the homeless.

Influence of housing benefit on education

Local authorities have the liability to search for places for children of compulsory education. Education financing permits the child even though with certain lag, there are supplementary burdens being positioned on different education authorities that can eventually need to be mitigated to certain degree. Nevertheless, there might be an overall augmentation in costs else wise disproportionate cost for individual regional authorities where different families move away (Schofield  2018).

Regional authorities necessarily have the accountability to search for places to set up schools for all children. Education financing permits children to develop skills, talents as well as knowledge. Therefore, additional burden positioned on the educational authorities can subsequently be mitigated to certain extent and degree by a housing benefit added to the compensation of workforces (Reeves et al. 2016). Nevertheless, the housing benefit can affect the education policies and systems of the nation.

Brief Methodology of research

The research study essentially throws light on different tools along with administration that can be used for completing the study. Essentially, the present proposal thus mainly concentrates on research philosophy, approach of the study, purpose of the study under deliberation, research design, mechanisms of gathering data, strategies chosen for the study, particular methods of sampling together with procedures of data evaluation (Powell 2015). Every possible research tool can be analysed and definite tools that can be employed for the present study can be explained together with justification of choice.

Impact of Housing Benefit on Services of Health as well as Social Services

Research Methodology

The study has the intention to use quantitative along with qualitative methodology of research that is also indicated as mixed research mechanism. Using quantitative methods can aid research in focusing on the procedures of counting and classifying various features and designing diverse statistical models together with figures to define observed incidents (Heeringa et al. 2017). In addition to this, choice of this specific mechanism can be said to viable since this can assist the researcher in acquiring a clear image of what to expect in this specific study. Furthermore, qualitative methodology of research can be utilized for setting off quantitative research mechanism where secondary data acquired from previous literature.  

Analysis of data

The primary along with subjective data from interview can be systematically assessed by examining transcript systematically for detection of segments of transcripts that connect to a variety of ideas otherwise concepts and implementation of various labels else wise codes to demonstrate the same (Heeringa et al. 2017). Furthermore, thematic content evaluation can be utilized for examination of the same. In addition, qualitative along with secondary data amassed from previous studies can be assessed utilizing systematic analysis of academic literature, analysis of theme and analysis of case study.

Sources of data used for the study

Data that can be used in this study include previously registered cases together with different structured texts including journals, research articles, books, newspapers, government reports along with official reports. Furthermore, qualitative research methods can aid in evaluating primary oral data acquired from interview undertaken.  

Instruments for acquirement of data

The learner can use the instrument (survey mechanism) for acquiring primary along with quantitative data for the current study under consideration. In essence, the survey method can design questionnaire that takes in standard set of relevant questions together with options for response (where opinions are rate utilizing 5 point likert scale) (Ward 2015). Furthermore, the learner also has the aim to use the interview method for collection of first hand that is primary data that can be considered to be subjective and at the same time qualitative in nature.

Ethical Consideration

There are diverse ethical considerations that have the need to be considered by the learner for conducting the research.

The learner has the need to make it certain that participants of the survey/interview are informed regarding the research subject under consideration and provided approval voluntarily.

The learner of the research study has the need to make certain that no harm gets inflicted upon participants of the research survey or else interview. Also, the learner also has the need to ensure preservation of confidentiality along with anonymity. In addition to this, learner also calls for maintenance of privacy and anonymity of reactions can be maintained in the research study (Hamnett 2014).

Influence of Housing Benefit on Education

Furthermore, the learner also has the intention to make sure that permission of the previous period is taken from research participant (Somerville 2016). This refers to the fact that no respondent gets forced to engage and get equal opportunity to refrain from the same at any specific period of time.

The learner also has the need to make sure that gathered information can adhere to the directives of the Data Protection Act and the amassed information need to b shielded against any kind of fraudulent access or else information leakage (Somerville 2016).

Housing benefits refers to a tested social security benefit that is intended to assist in meeting costs of housing for particularly rented accommodation.  In essence, housing benefit is also sometimes presented as an effort for the purpose of incentivising households to search for cheaper properties. The cuts to housing benefit is said to affect total amount of rent disbursed, total earnings counting any other advantages received, any savings of the entity, personal as well as family circumstances and overall national exchequer. The present study elucidates in detail about the ways of reducing the total number of individuals claiming benefits and the way it can affect overall economic conditions of nations. The study at hand intends to critically examine effect of increased costs borne by firms for housing benefits provided to customers, the way it affects profit levels of the firm and subsequently the entire nation.

References:

Cappellari, L. and Jenkins, S.P., 2014. The dynamics of social assistance benefit receipt in Britain. In Safety nets and benefit dependence (pp. 41-79). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

De Agostini, P., Paulus, A. and Tasseva, I., 2015. The effect of tax-benefit changes on the income distribution in 2008-2014(No. EM11/15). EUROMOD Working Paper.

Gilbert, N. and Van Voorhis, R.A., 2017. Activating the unemployed: a comparative appraisal of work-oriented policies. Routledge.

Hamnett, C., 2014. Shrinking the welfare state: the structure, geography and impact of British government benefit cuts. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 39(4), pp.490-503.

Heeringa, S.G., West, B.T. and Berglund, P.A., 2017. Applied survey data analysis. Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Hernández, D. and Phillips, D., 2015. Benefit or burden? Perceptions of energy efficiency efforts among low-income housing residents in New York City. Energy research & social science, 8, pp.52-59.

Lund, B., 2017. Understanding housing policy. Policy Press.

Murie, A., 2016. The Right to Buy?: selling off public and social housing. Policy Press.

Powell, R., 2015. Housing benefit reform and the private rented sector in the UK: On the deleterious effects of short-term, ideological “Knowledge”. Housing, Theory and Society, 32(3), pp.320-345.

Reeves, A., Clair, A., McKee, M. and Stuckler, D., 2016. Reductions in the United Kingdom’s government housing benefit and symptoms of depression in low-income households. American journal of epidemiology, 184(6), pp.421-429.

Schofield, J.A., 2018. Cost-benefit analysis in urban & regional planning (Vol. 20). Routledge.

Somerville, P., 2016. Coalition housing policy in England. The Coalition Government and Social Policy: Restructuring the Welfare State, p.153.

Stephens, M. and Whitehead, C., 2014. Rental housing policy in England: post crisis adjustment or long term trend?. Journal of housing and the built environment, 29(2), pp.201-220.

Stewart, K. and Obolenskaya, P., 2015. The coalition’s record on the under fives: Policy, spending and outcomes 2010-2015. Social Policy in a Cold Climate Working Paper WP12. London: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.

Thomson, H. and Thomas, S., 2015. Developing empirically supported theories of change for housing investment and health. Social Science & Medicine, 124, pp.205-214.

Ward, K.J., 2015. Geographies of exclusion: Seaside towns and houses in multiple occupancy. Journal of rural studies, 37, pp.96-107.

Wilcox, S., 2014. Housing benefit size criteria: Impacts for social sector tenants and options for reform. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.