Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 23
23
The Government should review its decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance rates by maintaining the...
Recommendation
The Government should review its decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance rates by maintaining the 30th percentile in cash terms only, and instead keep rates indexed at the 30th percentile long-term. This will help households across England to afford their rent. (Paragraph 94) Protecting the homeless and the private rented sector: MHCLG’s response to Covid-19 39
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
This Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support to protect renters whose income has been affected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To help prevent people getting into financial hardship, we increased the local housing allowance (LHA) in April 2020 to the 30th percentile of local market rents in each area at a cost of almost £1 billion. The increased LHA rates will be maintained at the current levels in cash terms in 2021-22, even in areas where the 30th percentile of local rents has gone down. Over 2020-21, this has already provided 1.5 million claimants with around £600 more housing support than they would otherwise have received.