Housing Benefit Cuts Will Put 800,000 Homes Out Of Reach

A further 800,000 homes will be put out of reach of people on housing benefit because of government welfare cuts – leaving low income families the choice of cutting spending on food to pay the rent or moving out, according to a study by housing experts. The Chartered Institute of Housing has found there will be thousands more claimants than properties that are affordable on benefits alone, raising the possibility that the poor will migrate to "benefit ghettoes" in seaside towns or the north of England. From this month, the government has capped housing benefit payments to, for example, a maximum £250 a week on a two-bedroom home. The cut is compounded by the allowances being scaled back by pegging them to the bottom third of rents in any borough. The result is that in many towns and cities there will not be enough affordable homes to rent for those claiming local housing allowance. The problem is most acute in central London but the effect will be felt not just in south-east England. Before today, Birmingham had more than 37,000 homes with rents affordable on welfare. Now 34,500 housing benefit claimants will be chasing 23,000 low-cost houses. On the Mersey, 21,000 people collecting local housing allowance will only be able to afford 12,000 homes in Liverpool. Read more on the Guardian website.