Landlord group urges government to lift freeze as renters struggle to cover rising costs
Nearly half of private renters receiving housing benefits are experiencing a gap between their government support and rent costs, according to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
The organisation’s analysis comes ahead of the UK government’s planned freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates in April. Official data indicates that 48% of private tenants on LHA receive less than what they need to cover their rent.
In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, the NRLA cited findings from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which showed that when LHA rates were previously frozen in 2023, only 5% of rental properties were affordable for claimants.
Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggests that continuing the freeze could push 50,000 renters into poverty, 60,000 into deep poverty, and 80,000 into very deep poverty.
The issue is exacerbated by high demand for rental properties, with Zoopla reporting an average of 12 renters competing for each available home. The NRLA argues that freezing LHA will make it even harder for benefit recipients to secure a tenancy, as they may struggle to demonstrate they can afford ongoing rent payments.
The association is urging the government to re-align LHA rates with at least the lowest 30% of rents for the remainder of this Parliament.
The government confirmed last year that LHA rates would remain frozen, meaning housing benefits will not adjust to rising rents. Since 2013, LHA has not automatically increased with rental costs, with freezes in place for seven of the past 12 years.
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle (pictured) criticised the policy, stating that ministers “are making it harder for those reliant on housing benefits to sustain their tenancies, especially in an already fiercely competitive rental market.”
“Tenants shouldn’t be expected to endure the uncertainty of not knowing what support they can access from one year to the next,” Beadle said. “It is time to end the insecurity they face and unfreeze housing benefit rates.”
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