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Regardless of how large or small your monthly wage is it is not unusual to get to the end of the month and find your outgoings have slightly exceeded your incomings.

Financial management can be a tricky balancing act and unplanned expenditure, whether it is for a broken boiler or a forgotten birthday present, can often see you reaching for the credit card or taking a temporary excursion into the overdraft.

While a badly timed expense could mean incurring added interest for most of us it would not necessarily result in losing the roof over your head.

However changes to the way housing benefit is paid is in danger of increasing the chances of tenants missing rental payments, being kicked out and giving landlords an added headache.

Changes were introduced in April. Under the new scheme a local housing allowance is paid to the claimant who then pays their rent to the landlord, whereas historically landlords would receive the payment directly from the local authority, thereby removing any credit risk to the buy-to-let investor.

With claimants receiving the allowance directly, the government hopes it will make the process of receiving benefits more similar to receiving a salary and therefore encourage these individuals to take responsibility for their finances.

While the scheme has been praised for promoting financial inclusion and bringing benefit payments in line with local rental levels, landlords and lenders understandably have raised concerns.

There is a feeling the scheme could, for various reasons, result in an increase in missed rental payments. So with this in mind what are the long-term implications for tenants, landlords and the buy-to-let market in general?

Elizabeth Brogan, senior policy officer for the National Landlords Association, said she was already aware of instances where flaws in the system had been exposed.

She said: "I am sure for many landlords and tenants the local housing allowance will work. But there are certainly some valid concerns coming from landlords.

"For example, there is one case where a woman on benefits had rent money paid directly into her overdrawn account, which the bank then immediately closed down, leaving her nothing to pay the rent with. Often people on benefit do not have much money and one unexpected bill can have a big impact on them financially."

This is a view that has been echoed by lenders, who recognise managing finances can be a tricky balancing act at the best of times but is even more precarious for those on a limited income.

John Heron, managing director of buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages, said: "As we all know there are many different calls on any individual's income and whether or not the tenant passes the rent on to the landlord at the end of the day is down to how well they manage their money."

Jeremy Law, head of buy-to-let for specialist lender Mortgage Express, said the new scheme could have a detrimental affect on the most vulnerable members of society.

He said: "If an individual is struggling with their money for whatever reason they are going to end up taking their benefit and not paying for the roof over their head and getting themselves into difficulty.

"If someone is having any issues the best thing they can do is have a roof over their head so they can sort out their issues. In my mind it seems to open up a greater opportunity for things to go wrong."

Both lenders and advisers agree the new scheme could see landlords become more selective with what housing benefit recipients they allow to stay in their properties. It has also been argued the change in housing benefit payment could cause some buy-to-let investors withdraw from the sector altogether.

Mortgage Express' Mr Law said: "If you are a landlord and you suddenly have less certainty of getting your rent in, why would you go for someone who in your mind is perceived as a riskier customer?

"In the past landlords had the security of knowing they were getting paid but when that security goes why would you stay in the buy-to-let sector? It opens up greater issues of getting landlord willing to operate in this part of the market."

Paragon Mortgages' Mr Heron said: "I would expect landlords to be much more particular about what tenants on benefits they allow in their property and it may well be at a time of high tenant demand, which we have at present.

"We expect this demand to grow further and that some landlords will find this area much less attractive when there are plenty of tenants who are not on benefits available to them."

Steve Olejnik, head of sales for Sevenoaks-based buy-to-let specialist intermediary Mortgages for Business, said he thought the new process would be less likely to attract investors to the sector and was already pushing landlords away from the local housing schemes.

He said there was a danger of causing a housing crisis for some social groups in the future.

Mr Olejnik said: "I know personally landlords who are now going more for the professional market, which is only going to reduce the amount of properties out there for housing benefit tenants. That could have a negative impact in the longer term."

As well as landlords turning away from such tenants there is also the possibility landlords who do want to operate in this area would find that a growing number of lenders perceive the risk in the sector as too great.

Lenders could stop offering loans for properties for housing benefit recipients, advisers fear.

With some lenders in the buy-to-let arena, such as Alliance & Leicester, not offering their buy-to-let portfolio to landlords with assisted tenants could we see other lenders turning away?

Mortgages for Business' Mr Olejnik said: "It would not surprise me to see lenders tighten their criteria and move away from allowing housing benefit tenants. With landlords losing control of rent receipts, lenders could have concerns and in a climate where there is a focus on quality, prime business it would be easy for lenders to turn away from this part of the market."

Mortgage Express' Mr Law said the provider was happy to continue lending to these types of landlords but would be monitoring the situation closely.

He said: "We are not planning on changing anything but we will be cautiously watching if it does have any impact. If it does we will be left with no choice."

Mr Law said he felt other lenders would be adopting a similar policy. He said: "If you end up with greater defaults as a result of this well you will want to either tighten your policy or you stop doing the lending or price according to the risk. If it becomes a greater risk then we will have to take action across one of those options."

Five seconds: Changes to the way housing benefit is paid mean recipients now get the money directly, adding increased risk for landlords, lenders and even tenants.