Housing Benefit: The Black Hole That Continues To Grow

Since 2011, as benefits have been cut back, a black hole has started to appear in our welfare system for private renters. This black hole is the widening gap between housing benefit and rents at the very cheapest end of the private rental market. This is because while housing benefit rates for private renters have been frozen by the government, private rents have continued to climb. We calculate that if something doesn’t change before 2019/20, the gap between housing benefit rates and local rents will have grown so much that the black hole in Britain will be worth £1.9billion. More than one million people will be affected by this. And few have the resources to sustainably cover the increasing shortfalls. Read more on the Huffington Post website.

Councils Issue Housing Blueprint for Next Government's First 100 Days

Councils in England and Wales have published a housing blueprint for the next government's first 100 days after research revealed almost three quarters of would-be homeowners believe they are trapped in a rental "black hole". Council-led land trusts, an immediate removal of the housing revenue account borrowing cap and reforming the right to buy scheme are among the priorities outlined by the Local Government Association. The LGA has issued its blueprint to coincide with the publication of a new survey which showed that 71% of respondents were "not confident" about the prospects of buying a home. Read more on 24dash.