A big debate on local radio today about the Govt's housing benefits cuts coming into effect this month. Somewhat predictably the callers fall into two schools - those who think that benefit recipients are a bunch of scroungers living off the backs of the workers, and those who think the Gov't should be doing more to provide cheap housing for the low paid & unemployed. One caller, a Citizen's Advice Bureau advisor stated that thousands of families would be forced into even more poverty and most would have to move to cheaper and unsuitable accommodation, if any were available. I suppose that something had to be done as we read of large families on benefit living in mansions in Chelsea & Kensington costing the taxpayer up to £250,000 p.a. This is a somewhat extreme case but there are quite a few others in the London area not far behind this figure. What none of the callers has touched on however is the role of the landlord. The landlords are making a mint by charging high rents in the knowledge that the Gov't in the past was happy to pay the asking price. Why not set rents at a lower, more sustainable level backed by statute? It suits these landlords for the Gov't to be seen as the villain of the piece, but it is their greed that has caused this problem. In fact it is not really a problem at all if the landlords simply said ' ok, I'll take a few £'s less rent so that this family can stay in decent accommodation'. We're not talking hundreds of £'s a week here, just £20-30 in a lot of cases. Sheer greed lies at the root of this situation.