The Department said changes will be “part of wider plans to make the benefits system fairer and protect people from falling into debt”

The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that automatic benefit deductions for rent arrears are to be “re-examined.”

It says it will not appeal against a court ruling that taking money from Nathan Roberts’ Universal Credit payments to give to his landlord was unlawful.

Mr Roberts’ landlord had asked the DWP to make the deductions, saying the rent was not being paid and there were two months of arrears.

The tenant was not consulted but had money taken off his benefits to pay rent directly to the landlord and to recoup the alleged arrears. He said he had been withholding the rent in a dispute over repairs.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall says the court ruling will not be contested, and the way such deductions are automatically approved will be reviewed to make the system fairer.

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Ms Kendall said in a statement: “I am determined to right the wrongs that have persisted in the benefits system for too long. The automatic approval of landlords’ requests for tenants’ benefits to be deducted is one of these.

“As well as urgently reviewing this system, I am bringing forward major changes to the health and disability benefits system so that it works for everyone, underpinned by the biggest employment reforms in a generation.

“We will continue to listen to people’s concerns, and transform our benefits system to one of fairness, not punishment.”

Sir Stephen Timms, DWP Minister for Social Security and Disability, said: “The benefits system needs urgent reform and we are taking action across the board to do this – whether that’s tackling the huge accumulation of debt by Carer’s Allowance recipients through no fault of their own, or this automatic deduction of benefits purely at the request of a landlord.

“Combined with our efforts to Get Britain Working and our upcoming health and disability benefits reform, this will lead to better support for those who need it and open doors for those who can work.”

Currently, a computer program automatically approves landlord requests to deduct up to a fifth of someone’s monthly Universal Credit payments for outstanding rent repayments without them being consulted by either their landlord or DWP.

The department says it will now look at this process and “consider better ways of ensuring landlords get the rent they are owed in a fair and proportionate way while benefit claimants are protected from falling into debt.”

In April, the Universal Credit Fair Repayment Rate will also come into force, reducing the cap on how much can be deducted from someone’s benefits from 25 per cent to 15 per cent.

The DWP said it meant approximately 1.2 million households would keep more of their Universal Credit payment each month, with households expected to be better off by £420 a year on average.

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