BASW General Election Blog: Undertake a review of those benefits that fuel the housing crisis.

BASW has set out 40 priorities for the next UK Government that we’ll be highlighted to all political parties ahead of the General Election. Our blog series takes a deeper look at each of the policy asks in turn.
Housing

Undertake a review of those benefits that fund the housing crisis

There are many reasons why we have a housing crisis. A lack of affordable housing and inadequate supplies of supported and specialist living are reasons that we have already explored in previous blogs. In additional to supply and type of housing available, governments have failed to ensure that people who receive benefits are able to afford necessities such as somewhere safe and secure to live. 

The impact of Austerity has been cuts to both public services and welfare benefits. This includes the amounts paid under the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), the benefit cap, and the failure to uprate benefits in line with inflation. In 2020, the UK Government increased LHA rates so that they covered the 30% lowest rates in any given area. This means that a private renter receiving support in the form of the LHA will be guaranteed to be able to afford the 30% cheapest accommodation in the area. The rate was frozen last year. With rents rising, the cost of living increasing and the LHA frozen, people will increasingly be unable to afford their home. Until new housing stock is available to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, failure to raise benefit levels, and to lift the rental cap will result in more people being forced into poor and overcrowded housing, and more people will be homeless.

We have seen costs rising significantly over the last few years, and private sector rents are no exception. Many people are priced out of owning their own home due to income and deposit requirements, and they can’t get social housing which means they have no option but to turn to the private sector. But with mortgage rates increasing, landlords are increasing rents. This is resulting in people being unable to afford to live there, resulting in having to find cheaper accommodation – which doesn’t exist and, if it does, the quality is poor. 

Without ensuring that benefits are enough to cover housing, the housing crisis will continue. The next UK Government should review benefits such as Universal Credit, the bedroom tax, and the cap on benefits to ensure that people are receiving enough support to match the costs of housing, 

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To learn more about housing and homelessness read BASW’s ‘Housing and Homelessness’ position statement and recommendations.