- Benefit changes will mean young people could benefit
by almost £400 a month in some areas.
- “Immediate boost” for vulnerable young people says
Minister for Welfare Delivery, .
- Change increases the government’s ongoing support for
private renters.
These are coming into force from Monday 31 May – two
years earlier than scheduled. This will offer £10 million
of additional housing support, bringing the total
projected government spend on housing support to £30
billion this year.
Increases to the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) are
expected to benefit thousands of Universal Credit and
Housing Benefit claimants, and have been introduced more
than two years earlier than the original implementation
date of October 2023.
The SAR is applied to renters aged under 35 claiming
support through Local Housing Allowance (LHA). It adjusts
their benefit to the cost of renting a room in shared
accommodation, but there is a higher, one-bedroom rate
for people who need to rent solo housing.
There are two key changes today:
- Care leavers can now claim the higher one-bedroom LHA
rate for longer, as the maximum age limit has been raised
to 25, from 22.
- Anyone who has lived in a homeless hostel for 3
months or more, regardless of age, will also now be able
to claim the higher rate, as the age limit has been
removed.
For example, in Harlow and Stortford a single care leaver
aged 23 could expect to receive up to £387 additional
housing support per month as a result of the change.
Minister for Welfare Delivery said:
These changes are an immediate boost for some of the
most vulnerable young people in our communities.
We know that having a safe, secure home is vital to
getting on your feet and often into work. By bringing
these changes in early, we’re able to help more people
right now, as we all look to recover from the pandemic.
- A care leaver is a person who has been in Local
Authority care (e.g. residential or foster care) for 13
weeks or more since they were age 14, and ending after
age 16.
