Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:
“Yet again, the UK Government has missed a crucial opportunity to
pull thousands of people back from the brink of homelessness by
investing in housing benefit. This will be nothing short of
crushing for people who rely on this vital lifeline and are
continuing to feel the crippling impact of the cost of living
crisis.
“Rents are rising at their fastest rate in 16 years, incomes are
not keeping pace and yet housing benefit remains frozen, last
increased nearly three years ago. It simply does not make sense.
The Government must urgently reconsider their approach and uprate
housing benefit in line with the true cost of rents - otherwise
we will see thousands more people forced out of their homes with
nowhere to go.”
-Ends-
Notes to Editor
A tale of two crises: housing and the cost of living -
https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/249008/a_tale_of_two_crises_housing_and_the_cost_of_living.pdf
- 1.9 million private renters across GB rely on housing benefit
to pay their rent. 1.7 million are in England – this is more than
one in three private renters.
- Housing benefit levels have been frozen since March 2020,
based on 2018-19 rents. With record rent increases since then,
Crisis research with Zoopla has found that just 11% of
one-bedroom properties across England were affordable to people
in receipt of housing benefit over the last year.
- Private tenants on the lowest incomes are facing combined
rent, food and utility costs that exceed their income, pushing
people into debt before they have even accounted for other
essential costs.
