The new chief executive of campaigning charity Shelter has sharply criticised the government over its refusal to unfreeze the local housing allowance (LHA).
Sarah Elliott comments:“This Budget is cold comfort to families on the brink of losing their home, or the record 172,400 children who will wake up homeless in temporary accommodation this Christmas.
“The Chancellor raised the scandal of children in damaging temporary accommodation, but the failure to unfreeze local housing allowance rates will condemn thousands to another grim winter without a secure home. Even more people will find it impossible to either avoid or escape homelessness in the months ahead unless the government throws them a lifeline.
“Housing benefit is meant to help struggling families afford a roof over their heads, but it’s too far out of sync with the real cost of renting. For the government’s upcoming homelessness strategy to help children out of temporary accommodation, it must do the right thing and unfreeze local housing allowance.”
And homelessness Charity Crisis is also frustrated about LHAs.
It says the continuation of the allowance freeze means thousands of low-income households will be unable to afford their rents and be pushed into homelessness.
Crisis’ research with Zoopla shows that just 2.4% of properties listed in England are affordable on Local Housing Allowance – and just 1% in Wales.
With new research from Crisis showing that almost 300,000 households are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness in England alone, the charity is calling for the UK government to urgently reconsider the ongoing freeze on housing benefit ahead of the publication of their strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.
Francesca Albanese, Director of Policy and Social Change at Crisis, says: “What this Budget doesn’t do, however, is help hundreds of thousands of households across Great Britain who are homeless or at risk.
“The choice to keep housing benefit frozen, and wildly out-of-step with the true cost of rents, will directly lead to a rise in homelessness and pile additional pressure on councils whose combined temporary accommodation bill in England alone is nearly £3 billion a year.
“Without restoring housing benefit, many low-income households will remain trapped in poverty. As they finalise their strategy to tackle homelessness, the Westminster government must urgently reconsider this decision as it flies in the face of their manifesto commitment to get the country back on track to ending homelessness.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today