Welfare Reform Hits Private Renters Hardest

An exodus of benefit recipients from high to low cost neighbourhoods is a widely predicted side effect of the government's controversial welfare ceiling of £26,000.  Much less has been said about those who decide to stay put and struggle on. A report published by the Pro-Housing Alliance casts new light on the effect of diminished welfare support on a group officially accepted as the hardest hit by the cap: the 1.4 million private renters. Private rented properties are already characterised by poor, cramped conditions, and barely affordable rents, the study Poor Homes, Poor Health, claims. "Many homes in the private rented sector are not decent," it says, pointing to official figures that show 1.36m privately rented properties are poor quality. Overcrowding rate is 5%, more than all other sectors, including council housing or owner occupation. Download a copy of the report from the Pro-Housing Alliance website.

Here