Landlords have slammed the Government for its ‘complacent’ attitude to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) freeze and its effect on both tenants and landlords.
The comments by the NRLA follow an admission by Work and Pensions Minister, Mims Davies MP that he has made no estimate of the number of people unable to meet their housing costs due to the freeze.
This sets how much housing benefit some tenants receive towards paying their rent within the private rented sector but it has been frozen since 2019 and many of those in receipt of benefits now struggle to make up the difference.
As LandlordZONE reported last month, lender trade organisation UK Finance somewhat unusually blamed this ‘gap’ on a surge in the number of landlords in mortgage arrears.
Two million
Calling on the Government to unfreeze the LHA rate, its spokesperson said: “Approximately two million households rely on housing benefit to pay private rent, and re-coupling LHA rates with local rent levels will make more properties affordable to them”.
A recent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that rented households in receipt of the LHA will receive an average of £50 a month less in benefit support than they would have got if rates had risen in line with rents.
Ben Beadle (pictured), Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, says: “The NRLA is appalled at the Government’s complacent attitude.
“Amidst a cost of living squeeze we need to do everything to support the sector and often vulnerable tenants in accessing the housing they need. “It beggars belief that ministers have frozen vital support for many renters with no idea how many will be unable to afford their housing as a result.
“The Government should unfreeze housing benefit rates as a matter of urgency.”
