Inner-city landlords are exploiting the country's acute housing shortage by evicting tenants and replacing them with those prepared to pay more. The rent increases come as cuts to local housing allowance (LHA) are phased in from January, amid warnings that a combination of rising rents and reduced allowances will see poorer families priced out. New figures reveal a 22% increase in the number of fast-track evictions – known as "accelerated possessions" – between 2010 and 2011. It is thought the rise is largely down to landlords taking advantage of being able to re-let their properties at a higher rent. The government estimates 775,000 claimants will lose an average of £9 a week as a result of reductions to LHA. A cap on the allowance will also mean some 21,000 people lose an average of £74 per week. The housing charity Shelter says fewer than a third of properties will remain affordable to claimants in some parts of London, forcing people out of the capital. Read more on the Guardian website.
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