Landlords have slammed the Department for Work and Pensions for attempting to sneak a new method of calculating housing benefit through the back door. The British Property Federation, which represents private landlords dealing with local government, said a week-long DWP consultation on the issue made a ‘mockery' of policy-making. A new DWP consultation paper plans to remove an important legal clause linking a person's housing benefit to their neighbourhood. In general, the wider the administrative area under which a claimant's benefit is calculated, the less likely it is that the benefit will reflect the value of properties in the claimant's neighbourhood. The DWP is seeking to overturn the ‘Heffernan' judgement, issued last July by the House of Lords, which successfully restricted benefit calculations to localities. The BPF fears the move forms part of Whitehall's attempt to reduce the cost of Local Housing Allowance payments made directly to landlords. Whitehall's proposal to adjust the legislation was made public on 21 November, but officials demanded that full responses to the consultation must be submitted within seven days. BPF residential director, Ian Fletcher, said: ‘This makes a mockery of the word "consultation". If [the] DWP is going to consult, then it should do so properly. If the issue does not warrant consultation, then the DWP must explain why. He said such proposals meant many landlords ‘have a total disrespect for the DWP'.