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A Conservative MP has called for the introduction of 'Welfare Cash Cards' on which benefits would be paid, enabling claimants to make only priority purchases such as food, clothing, energy, travel and housing costs.

Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative MP for Elmet and Rothwell, said the cards - which would prevent the purchasing of luxury items like cigarettes, alcohol, sky television and gambling - would support the introduction of Universal Credit.  

Landlords testing direct payment of benefit failed to collect 8 per cent of rent on average in the first four months of the six pilot projects.

Data released today by the Department for Work and Pensions showed 6,220 tenants across Great Britain were paid directly in the first four months of the projects. Of these, 92 per cent of rent was collected on average overall, meaning arrears were around double the normal figure. A total of 316 tenants have been switched back to payment of benefit to the landlord. 

England's top 15 eviction 'hotspots' are all in London, according to research published today by Shelter.

Figures released by the housing charity show that in the 12 months to September 2012, 198,470 households have been threatened with losing their home, leaving one in every 115 households at risk of becoming homeless. This equates to cities the size of Liverpool or Bristol being evicted or repossessed. 

An agent is to face trial after denying accusations that he conned a prospective tenant into handing over money to rent a home that was allegedly not his to let out.

Thirugnanaselvam Damayantharan, 50, said in court to have been trading as Kingswood Estate Agents, allegedly showed Elaine Woodside around the property in Purley, Surrey. 

Tenants saw private rents rise by 0.4% in October pushing the average rent across England and Wales to a new record high of £744 per month.

The latest increase means rents have now risen for seven consecutive months and are, on average, 3.4% higher than this time last year. 

Talk to any landlord or letting agent and they're likely to have strong opinions about renting properties to people claiming housing benefit. Whichever side of the fence you sit, accepting tenants who rely on help from the government to pay their rent remains a contentious issue.

Stereotyping still exists and is, quite frankly, appalling. We should be horrified by the lack of respect, understanding and common decency that people claiming benefits face daily. 

DSS tenants get a bad press - often unfairly so. Here are the advantages, and disadvantages, to renting to this type of tenant.

Key points:

1. According to research, DSS tenants stay in properties for twice as long compared with non-DSS ones.
2. You can apply to the council to get housing benefit paid directly to your account if you have a good reason (like a failed credit check).
3. It can be harder to evict a DSS tenant. 

Protesters held an ‘inspection’ of local letting agents on Saturday to draw attention, they said, to high rents, short-term tenancies, discrimination against housing benefit claimants and agents’ high fees.

The protest apparently resulted in some agents shutting their doors while it was taking place.