Welsh coalition calls on the UK Government to provide more support to renters

A coalition of Welsh organisations have joined forces to call on the UK Government to end the freeze on the Local Housing Allowance.

Members and supporters of the Homes for all Cymru coalition have called on the UK Government to end the freeze on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) at its upcoming spring budget. The LHA is designed to provide people with enough support through the benefits system to afford the cheapest 30 per cent of housing in an area, adjusted for household composition. With LHA having been frozen since 2020, however, this is far from the case.

New research undertaken by the Bevan Foundation has found that only 1.2 per cent of properties that were advertised for rent between 3 February and 17 February were available at or below LHA rates.  In total there were only 32 properties advertised on the market that were fully covered by LHA rates, with no properties at all being on the market at LHA rates in 16 of Wales’ 22 local authorities.

Responding to the findings, one of the report’s authors, Dr Steffan Evans said:

“The latest findings make for extremely worrying reading. With so few properties available on the market at LHA levels many low-income tenants have little choice: move into a property that is unaffordable and risk financial hardship, move into a poor quality home, or become homeless.”

Organisations across Wales are already reporting that the decision to freeze the LHA is having an impact on their services:

Ruth Power, CEO of Shelter Cymru and Chair of Homes for all Cymru, said:

“The inadequacy of LHA is pushing people into poverty and keeping people homeless. It is nigh on impossible to find somewhere affordable to live if you are a private renter who is reliant on LHA. At Shelter Cymru we are being contacted daily by people at their wits’ end, who are being forced into homelessness because they cannot find anywhere they can afford. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, the UK Government must listen to the growing call to unfreeze LHA.”

Debbie Thomas, Head of Policy and Communications for Wales at Crisis, added:

“These figures confirm what we are seeing in our Skylight centre in South Wales – too many people and families are being forced into homelessness because housing benefit simply isn’t sufficient to keep a roof over their heads.

“It’s nearly three years since housing benefit was last increased and as the cost of living soars more people are left priced out of a home. This cannot continue. The UK Government must act now so that housing benefit can fulfil its purpose and protect those on low incomes.”

The calls to increase LHA has gathered support from all parts of the housing sector in Wales. Propertymark’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, Timothy Douglas added:

“Propertymark supports the Homes for All Cymru campaign to increase housing options for people on low wages and those on benefits by ending the freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates and uplifting this to the 30th percentile at the very least.

In our recent Spring budget representation to HM Treasury, Propertymark called on the Treasury to increase LHA levels to the 30th percentile if not the 50th percentile. We are also encouraging and supporting letting agents to submit their rental data to the Valuation Office Agency, to improve rental data to reflect fair LHA rates. We believe that letting agents have a vital role to play in improving data, but both the UK and Welsh Governments must make data collection as seamless as possible.”