Universal Credit: Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

 Lord Bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the Universal Credit housing allocation adequately supports recipients to pay their rent.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: In April we increased Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates so that they cover 30 per cent of local rents in the Private Rented Sector. This significant investment of almost £1 billion will mean over one million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 this year. A decision on LHA rates from April 2021 will be taken prior to the start of the financial year. For those living in the Social Rented Sector, maximum housing costs support is based on actual rent and eligible service charges less any deductions for under-occupation. For those who require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available.  http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2020-10-21/HL9408

Survey Busts Myths Around PRS Housing

Tenants are more satisfied with private rented accommodation than those in the social rented sector, according to figures published today from the 2015/16 English Housing Survey. It shows that 82 per cent of private sector tenants are satisfied with their current accommodation, ahead of the 81per cent who said the same about the social sector. Rates of dissatisfaction were also higher in the social sector, with 13 per cent of tenants dissatisfied with their accommodation compared to just 10 per cent in the private rented sector. 67 per cent of private sector tenants said they were satisfied with their current tenure status. Download the survey from the GovUK website.

Call To Cut Cost Of Evictions

Government figures show 19,601 tenants were evicted by UK social landlords over 2016 – over 1,600 a month. The figures, from the Ministry of Justice, confirm that in England and Wales alone, 79,000 claims for possession were lodged with the courts, with 60% of which were from the social sector. In court fees alone, this resulted in a spend of £28m. With homelessness acceptances in England increasing to 59,250 last year one of the UK’s leading housing and support services companies says the approach of social landlords to sanctions against tenants can play a pivotal role in prevention – while at the same time significantly reducing spiralling escalation and possession costs. Read more on 24housing.

Housing Benefit: Pensioners – Parliamentary Written Answer

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the local housing allowance from pensioners in the private rented sector to those in the social rented sector.

Caroline Nokes: Local housing allowance rates will not be introduced in the social rented sector for general needs housing until April 2019, and only then where tenancies have been taken out or renewed on or after 1 April 2016; and the tenant’s rent is higher than the Local Housing Allowance rates set for private sector tenants. Pensioners in the private rented sector have been subject to Local Housing Allowance rates since 2008. It is therefore only right that we bring about parity of treatment across both sectors, but pensioners in the social rented sector are unlikely to be affected unless they are substantially under-occupying their properties or they have high service charges. Discretionary Housing Payments remain available for those who need help transitioning to the change.

PRS Rent Increases Not Overtaking Wages

The cost of private rented housing has largely followed changes in earnings across England, in stark contrast to the social rented sector where rents have increased faster than wages. The new report from the National Audit Office said that “since 2006, the cost of private rented accommodation has broadly followed changes in earnings across England” whilst “social housing rents have increased faster than earnings since 2001-02.” It does, however note that the exception to this is in London, where rents are rising much faster. Read more on the RLA website.

DWP ‘Deliberately Misleading The Public’ About The Impact Of Housing Benefit Cuts

The DWP has been accused of “peddling lies and deliberately misleading the public” about the impact of upcoming cuts to housing benefit.  Upcoming cuts to housing benefit for tenants in the social rented sector, which come into force from early 2019, will see housing benefit for people living in social housing capped at the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate. The director of Angus Housing Association, Bruce Forbes, accused the DWP of attempting to “deliberately mislead the public by implying that it is the increasing cost of social housing sector rents that has seen the Housing Benefit bill spiral out of control”. Read more on Welfare Weekly.

Shelter Wrong On Rented Housing

Shelter’s ongoing assault on the private rented sector is plain wrong. As it publishes statistics on the standard of rented housing in the UK, Shelter fails to explain why the English Housing Survey found 82% of PRS tenants are satisfied with their accommodation – a higher proportion than the social rented sector. Shelter’s report refers to the instability tenants face, yet the most recent survey shows that tenants are on average living in their homes for four years, and a version of the survey published last year showed that just 8% of tenancies are ended by the landlord. Read more on the RLA website.

£9bn Housing Benefit To Private Landlords Is 'Madness'

David Orr has branded a doubling of housing benefit paid to private landlords over 10 years as ‘madness’, as he renews calls for more flexibility for associations. The NHF has published an analysis of government figures on housing benefit claimants. It calculates the number of housing benefit claimants living in the private rented sector has increased 42% to 1.5m over the 10 years to February 2016. This compares to a 4% increase in social sector claimants over the same period. Private landlords received £9.3bn in housing benefit last year, more than double the £4.6bn in 2006. The research also shows it costs £21 a week more to house a family in a private rented sector home than in a social home. It also found 47% of all private renters claiming housing benefit are in work, up from 26% six years ago. Download the briefing from the NHF website.

Changes To Housing Benefit Since 2010

After coming into power in 2010, as part of its deficit reduction programme the Coalition Government announced a package of welfare reforms aimed at reducing public expenditure. Housing Benefit was targeted as a key area for reform due to the increasing expenditure in this area (forecast to be £23.5 billion in 2016-17 - around 11% of total welfare expenditure).  This latest briefing paper details changes to Housing Benefit announced since 2010, including the under-occupation penalty ("bedroom tax"), limiting Housing Benefit paid to private tenants via changes to Local Housing Allowances and reducing social sector rents by 1% a year for four years from 2016-17.

Download the briefing from the Parliament website.

Five Million Private Renters 'Risk Housing Crisis Without Wage'

More than five million working rental sector tenants are at risk of being unable to cover their housing costs if they lost their wage, a report estimates. The research, authored by Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, warned the growth of the rental sector in recent years, combined with possible post-EU referendum rises in unemployment, could create a "toxic cocktail" for tenants who may find they are not eligible for housing benefit or that it may not fully cover their rent. The report found a steep rise across the UK in the number of working people who would potentially be at risk of being unable to meet their rent if they lost their wage through unemployment or sickness. Read more on the AOL website.

Private Rented Sector In UK Seeing Rapid Growth

The private rented sector is continuing its rapid growth across the UK and is now well established as the second biggest form of tenure after home ownership, new research shows. It has overtaken the social rented sector and large scale investment into the private rented sector (PRS) by funds and other institutions is set to treble over the next five years boosting growth further, according to the new tenant survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of Knight Frank. It estimates that total investment will rise to £50 billion over the next five years and large scale investors are operating an average gross to net yield of 26% for new Build to Rent developments.  Read more on the Property Wire website.

Poverty After Housing Costs By Housing Tenure

Since 2002/03 the number in poverty in all but owned with mortgage tenure types has decreased. While the proportion of those in poverty after housing costs in the social rented sector fell by 7.5 percentage points between 2002/03 to 2014/15 - the largest fall across all tenure types – the poverty rate in the social rented sector remains higher than any other tenure type. The proportion of those in poverty in the private rented sector is 36%, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points. Among those owning their properties outright, the proportion of those in poverty fell by 5.6 percentage points to 11%, while the figures for those owning a property with a mortgage remained unchanged. Read more on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.

Local Housing Allowance – Parliamentary Written Answer

Baroness Thomas of Winchester To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they will take to protect and enhance the amount of local housing allowance paid by local authorities in England in order to meet the accommodation and support needs of persons with learning disabilities.

Lord Freud: A Written Ministerial Statement was published on 1 March 2016 to announce that the effect of the Local Housing Allowance cap for those living in social sector supported housing, including those with learning disabilities, would be deferred by a year, pending the outcome of a review. We have done this because we understand the importance of ensuring that both those living in supported housing and those who provide this type of accommodation receive appropriate protections. This is why we are awaiting the outcome of a “Supported Accommodation” research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable and appropriate groups are safeguarded.

Lender Concerns Prompt Housing Bill Change

Ministers are set to change the Housing and Planning Bill following concerns that a new system of managing sector insolvencies would lead to lenders asking social landlords for more security. Within weeks, the government is expected to table amendments to the proposed legislation, which is currently going through the House of Lords. The Bill as it stands would potentially damage lenders’ ability to realise the full value of their security on some loans. The bill allows the communities secretary to appoint an administrator when a housing association collapses. The problem arose because under the current drafting of the bill, the primary aim of the proposed new special administration regime is to ensure social housing assets remain in the social rented sector. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Benefit: Shared Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Neil Coyle:  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the way in which the shared accommodation rate is calculated to mitigate the effect of the housing benefit cap in the social sector.

Justin Tomlinson: There are no current plans to review how the shared accommodation rate is calculated within the Local Housing Allowance scheme. For those under 35, not in supported housing, the existing exemptions that already apply to the shared accommodation rate for private rented sector tenants will be applied to the social sector as a minimum.

Social Rented Housing: Overcrowding – Parliamentary Written Answer

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of homes in the social rented sector have been classified as overcrowded in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: The Department publishes estimates of the numbers and proportions of homes in the social rented sector that have been classified as overcrowded. The proportion was estimated as 7.3% in 2010/11 and as 6.2% in 2013/14. These figures are from the English Housing Survey.

Housing Benefit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.125 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether the cap on housing benefit for single claimants under 35 will apply to those in receipt of disability benefits.

Justin Tomlinson: The existing exemptions that already apply to private rented sector tenants aged less than 35 will be carefully considered prior to implementing the cap for similar tenants living in the social rented sector.

Budget: On Housing This Was About As Bad As It Gets

For those interested in a sensible housing policy and supporting the most vulnerable, this budget was about as bad as they get. There are five key elements. First is the decision to freeze the Local Housing Allowance. Already, this is a long way removed from what it actually costs to rent a property in many parts of the country. Shelter predicted that only 6 per cent of England would be affordable to those on housing benefit by 2017; that will now get even more extreme. Secondly, there are significant reductions in housing benefit entitlements -  the household benefit cap, the withdrawal of the family premium in housing benefit, the ending of housing benefit to those aged between 18 and 21 who are out of work, the restriction of housing benefit entitlement to families with more than two children. Thirdly, rents in the social sector are to reduce by 1 per cent a year, ripping up a ‘ten year’ agreement issued as recently as 2013. Fourth, rents for those earning £30,000 per year (£40,000 in London) will rise to ‘market or near market’ rents. Finally there is practically nothing in the budget which will boost housing supply. Read more on the Left Foot Forward website.

Rents: Regulation _ Parliamentary Written Answer

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals giving local authorities powers to implement rent controls.

Brandon Lewis: No. The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that private sector rents have actually fallen in real terms across England since 2010 (rents up 10.6 per cent from May 2010 to December 2014, compared to CPI inflation of 12.1 per cent). Indeed, regulated social rents have risen faster in recent years; average weekly rents rose by 25.4 per cent from 2008-09 to 2012-13 in the social rented sector, compared to 6.5 per cent in the private rented sector (DCLG, English Housing Survey: Headline Report, February 2014, p.19). The historical evidence is clear that rent controls resulted in the size of the private rented sector shrinking from 55 per cent of households in 1939 to just 8 per cent in the late 1980s. State-imposed price ceilings meant that many landlords could not afford to improve or maintain their homes, leading to worst conditions for tenants. Ultimately, the reduction in supply from such controls would push up rents and reduce choice for tenants. Read more on the Parliament website.

Tower Block Residents Are Being Left In the Cold

Changes to the government’s support scheme for energy efficiency have seen tower block retrofit schemes shelved, leaving residents of Britain’s tower blocks in poor conditions with high energy bills. But new research shows that, in spite of the changes, there’s still a strong business case for putting tower blocks at the top rather than the bottom of the queue for energy retrofit. 400,000 homes in the UK are in tower blocks. Many are disadvantaged. Seventy one per cent of people living on or above the 5th floor are social rented sector tenants. Due to poor building fabric resident’s energy bills are often unmanageably high. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.