Benefit Cap to Force Families from Temporary Homes

A London borough has found hundreds of families in temporary accommodation in its area could be made homeless by the government’s welfare reforms. Haringey Council is warning that up to 800 families in private rented housing and 300 families in social rented housing could be forced out when the £500 a week benefit cap is introduced in 2013. The government is currently reviewing the subsidy regime for temporary accommodation, but has said it wants to bring temporary accommodation rents in line with local housing allowance payments – which go to eligible households in the private rented sector – by the time the benefit cap is introduced. Haringey has evaluated the impact on temporary accommodation of the introduction of the benefit cap under universal credit, and caps on LHA payments and changes to the way it is calculated. As well as the rise in homelessness it is also predicting around £6 million of the council’s temporary accommodation rent would not be collected in 2013/14, rising to £10 million in 2014/15. Read more on Inside Housing.