Cameron Backs Plan To Abolish Social Housing Rent Subsidy for Higher Earners

The government is introducing measures that could drive thousands of families out of social housing by removing any subsidy for their rent. In what is being billed as a "pay to stay" scheme, Downing Street has swung behind plans to introduce a new household income threshold above which social tenants must pay full market rent. The government is expected to say that rent subsidy will be capped at a household income of £60,000, meaning, for example, a couple on £30,000 each could see their rent rise by about £70 a week. The scheme, applicable to all housing association and council properties, is explicitly designed to make social housing primarily available to the poor.  Read more on the Guardian website.