Housing Benefit Bill ‘To Hit £71bn By 2050’

The housing benefit bill will rise to £71bn a year by 2050 unless levels of social housebuilding increase, an influential thinktank has warned. Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice’s (CSJ) housing commission predicts that half of that money will go to private landlords. People receiving housing benefit while living in the private rented sector cost the taxpayer 25% more on average than those living in social housing, researchers said. And they warned that affordable housing products – such as affordable rent, which can be up to 80% of market rates, or shared ownership – “will do nothing to reduce the burgeoning housing benefit bill”. Download the CSJ’s analysis.

https://omghcontent.affino.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/108/CSJ_-_A_SOCIAL_JUSTICE_HOUSING_STRATEGY.pdf

Top Tory Councillor Wants RTB ‘Re-Think’

A top Tory councillor is calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to ‘re-think the rules’ on Right to Buy – evoking the spirit of Margaret Thatcher. Councillor Rock Feilding-Mellen is the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Cllr Feilding-Mellen says it would be better to fund RTB – for council tenants as well as for housing association tenants – by offering shared equity deals so when homes are sold the discount would be repaid to the Exchequer to be recycled to help more people. He says: “An approach along these lines would increase the chance of being able to prevent our cities from becoming polarised between rich and poor areas and preserve mixed communities.” Read more on 24housing.

Ministers May Increase Direct Payment Exceptions

More people might be switched from direct payment of benefit under universal credit than ministers first thought, a civil servant has said. Graham Mowat, of the universal credit directorate at the DWP, said there has been a ‘big shift’ in ministers’ thinking about the numbers of people who might struggle with direct monthly payments.  Read more on Inside Housing.