Tenants Say ‘Pay To Stay’ Policy Punishes Them For Working

Under the Pay To Stay policy, announced in last year’s budget, families or individuals with a total income of £40,000 a year in London, and £30,000 outside the capital, will have to pay the rental market rate, with the increase going not to local councils but to the Treasury. Housing associations can voluntarily impose the cap, and retain the higher rents. Originally the cap was £100,000. According to the London Tenants Federation, a family with an income of £40,000 paying an average market rent in London will be £11,963 worse off than if earning just less than £40,000. The chancellor, George Osborne, estimates that pay to stay will save the government £250m a year and affect 10% of social housing tenants. Read more on the Observer website.