Provide support for private renters affected by Local Housing Allowance
Our key ask #3 is support for private renters affected by Local Housing Allowance
What is Local Housing Allowance?
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is used to calculate the maximum amount of housing costs allowed for benefit claimants in the private rented sector.
What is the impact of Local Housing Allowance cuts?
With LHA rates frozen since April 2021 and average rents rising by 8.4% in the past year, many private renters face a significant shortfall between their rent and the amount of LHA they receive. There is also a lack of affordable properties.
While some support is available via Discretionary Housing Payments, this is discretionary, temporary and often not sufficient to cover the shortfall.
Recommendation
The Mitigations Independent Review Panel Report recommended the establishment of a Financial Inclusion Service to provide advice and money management for low-income families who have been impacted by shortfalls in the Local Housing Allowance. This will provide access to a grant to help with meeting the shortfall between housing costs paid through benefit and contractual rent.
The Cliff Edge Coalition endorses this recommendation.