Landlords 'able to choose good benefit-backed tenants'

Landlords in the UK now have a better choice of "prospective good tenants" who claim housing benefit.

This is a result of a number of factors, according to Chris Jenkins, manager of property firm Clarity Commercial.

He claims that the latest UK job loss figures are one of the reasons there are more people out there with benefits who are looking for rented property.

Unemployment in the UK passed two million earlier this spring, and the figure is widely predicted to increase between now and the end of the year.

However, in terms of the buy-to-let industry, this has resulted in higher numbers of benefit claimers who can draw on positive references.

Many would-be tenants are "blue collar, semi-skilled workers who are able to ... pass credit scores but are out of work due to the current economic climate", Mr Jenkins explained.

Landlords increasingly appear to be turning to housing-benefit-backed tenants for a number of other reasons, including the current oversupply of property and the low cost associated with finding them, he added.