Wales’ Housing Crisis: making the LHA work for Wales

Wales’ most influential think tank the Bevan Foundation reveals the extent of the problems caused by the Local Housing Allowance, and how they can be solved.

New research by the Bevan Foundation has revealed that many Welsh households are struggling to find a home and pay their rent because of shortfalls in Local Housing Allowance.

The LHA is the maximum amount that people renting their home from a private landlord are able to claim from Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. The LHA is designed to provide people with enough support to afford the cheapest 30 per cent of housing in an area, adjusted for household composition. New research undertaken by the Bevan Foundation in 10 Welsh local authorities has unearthed that this is far from the mark.

Key findings from this report include:

• Between May and December 2021, the LHA rate only fully covered the advertised rent of 3.8 per cent of properties across 10 Welsh local authorities.
• Only 2.1 per cent of properties advertised across 10 Welsh local authorities had advertised
  rent at or below LHA and did not have a requirement that would exclude a low-income tenant.
• These challenges push many low-income people into homelessness, with others trapped within the homelessness system due to a lack of available accommodation within the private rental sector.
• Other low-income renters are pushed into poor quality accommodation and financial hardship due to the inadequate support provided through the LHA.

We have developed a package of recommendations that if implemented would address the problems we have revealed.

Pages: 54

Format: PDF

Language: English 

Cost: Free

 

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