Tenants, including pensioners, have been alarmed after they received what looked like big increases in rent demands from their new landlord.

The demands appeared in some cases to be more than double what they had been paying as council tenants with West Oxfordshire District Council.

What many did not realise was that housing benefits had not been included in the bills.

District councillor Ted Cooper has criticised the new private landlord, West Oxfordshire Housing (WOH), for not sorting out the way it issued its rent demands.

He said: "About half of the tenants receive housing benefits, but the information was dealt with separately.

"Some of them, particularly the elderly, just looked at the new rent levels and were shocked. It was an appalling way to deal with them."

All 3,600 of the district's council houses were transferred to the new housing company last month. They were promised rent increases of no more than one per cent above inflation.

The problem, according to WOH chief executive David Walters, was an administrative one and has now been sorted out.

He said: "Housing companies, unlike councils who are landlords, cannot process housing benefits.

"We pointed this out in an insert with the new rent cards, but some may not have taken it in.

"All tenants will now have received their housing benefit information. Our rent collectors and office staff are reassuring those who are unsure of what is happening."