In our last newsletter, we reported
'Local Housing Allowances (LHA) have been frozen again for 2023/24. They help determine how much Housing Beneft or Universal Credit Housing costs will be payable for rent. The last time they were increased was in 2020/21 when they were set to cover the lowest 30% of rents.'
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has analysed the problem-
Figure 1 shows how the 2023–24 LHA rates compare to the 30th percentile of rents in each ‘broad rental market area’ (BRMA) – the geographical unit that LHA rates are calculated for – for two-bedroom properties. If LHA rates had been kept at the 30th percentile of local rents, then all the points would lie on the grey 45-degree line.
'some low-income families see almost no change in the share of housing costs they are required to pay, others will have to cover signifcantly more than they did previously. Big gaps have already opened up in the space of just three years – they will only widen as time goes on.'
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