The Local Government Association (LGA) has published the
results of a survey which showed 96% of councils are concerned homelessness
will increase if benefit rates are not lifted. Private tenants are only allowed
to claim the ‘Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate’ – which is supposed to
reflect the lowest 30% of private sector rents in a specific area. But rates
have been frozen since April 2016, and are not set to rise until 2020. Actual
rents are expected to rise by around 5% over this time, with particularly sharp
rises in areas of high demand – creating shortfalls between benefit entitlement
and actual rents. The LGA’s survey showed almost unanimous concern about this
policy from councils of all political colours, with 76 town halls responding.
Read more on the LGA website.
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