JUST five per cent of landlords in Oxford are prepared to rent to people who receive housing benefit, according to a report.

Oxford City Council said it found people letting private properties ‘generally reluctant’ to do so in a survey it carried out.

Housing benefit is paid to people on lower incomes who may struggle to pay rent. The maximum available for a two-bed property in Oxford is £834 a month.

The city council said some landlords it surveyed would only let to benefit claimants if they could present a guarantor who owned their own home and had a gross annual income of 30 times the monthly rent.

Its survey found reluctance from landlords was partly due to changes in government policy, which mean that under Universal Credit housing benefit is not paid directly to them.

There is also a four-year freeze on housing benefit, the city council said.

Its report added: “A significant proportion of landlords said they were deterred by concerns about arrears, property damage and a perceived need for more intensive management in relation to these tenants who lack the means to move when required and stay put until a possession order.

“To mitigate these perceived risks, landlords put in place additional safeguards when renting to benefit claimants effectively imposing a premium on these prospective tenants.”

‘Access costs’, such as providing two months’ rent up front, was a ‘key barrier’.