Welfare Reform and Social Housing – HQN Briefing

The Welfare Reform Bill was introduced to Parliament on 16 February. The reforms most directly concerning housing are those related to Housing Benefit (HB), the new Universal Credit regime and the overall benefit cap framework. The main HB reforms affecting social renters are the uprating of non-dependant deductions, and relating benefit payable to the rent payable for a dwelling of an ‘appropriate size’ Universal Credit, to be phased in over four years from October 2013, will radically reshape the entire welfare benefits structure, replacing existing income-related work-based benefits. Download the briefing from the HQN website.