Pay (MORE) to Stay

The Observer has a piece about the government policy they call “pay to stay” which is a misnomer as tenants already pay to stay, else they will be evicted, and the policy is one of paying MORE to stay. What the article does NOT say is:

·         The policy does not apply in Scotland & Wales

·         The income threshold is household income not just wage income

·         The policy is mandatory for council landlords to impose yet is voluntary for housing association landlords.

·         Council landlords return all added rental income to central government, yet housing associations get to keep all added rent charged under the policy

What the article gets wrong is that a couple both working 40 hours per week at the £7.20 national living wage have a wage income ABOVE the £30k threshold as this is £30.034 per year. Read more on the Joe Halewood blog.