Radical Change Threatens Rents

Ministers plan to enlarge the areas used to calculate housing benefit payments for private tenants. The move to base local housing allowance on rents across areas larger than the current ‘broad rental market’ zones forms part of the government’s radical welfare reform package. Sources said tying LHA rates to defined regions could exert further downward pressure on rents in high-value areas such as London. But charities are warning that using larger regions, where rents may vary greatly, would drive poorer people out of cities into cheaper areas with no jobs. Read more on Inside Housing.