The Threat of Increased Homelessness

In a letter more than 30 homeless charities, faith leaders and MPs whose signatories include Shelter and the Salvation Army have issued a direct warning that the Government must lift the cap on housing benefits or see a million households facing homelessness within the next two years.

Abandoning the freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) for private renters is “essential” in order for low-income families to avoid homelessness, they wrote.  New figures show that the average family on the housing benefit is typically £35 a month worse off as a result of the freeze — a shortfall that is projected to reach £108 by 2020.

LHA is paid to low-income private renters to help them with housing costs but has been frozen since April 2016, despite private rents have risen by 22 per cent since 2010. Inflation means the freeze is a cut in real terms.

Local council leaders across England and Wales earlier this week also urged the Chancellor to lift the cap on LHA, saying it is crucial in allowing them to help prevent people losing their homes.

In total, 96 per cent of local authorities surveyed said the number of people being made homeless “would increase” if the Government’s freeze on LHA is maintained until 2020, while 92 per cent said removing the LHA freeze would reduce homelessness.

The National Audit Office (NAO) recently revealed that since the benefit cuts began in 2011, the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation had increased from fewer than 49,000 to around 77,000. The research stated that the LHA changes have likely contributed to this rise in homelessness.