WIDER POLICIES
Housing Benefit Policy

Overview

This section provides a review of housing benefit policies which are relevant to homeless people, in England, Scotland and Wales.

Homelessness and Housing Benefit

The availability of Housing Benefit can make housing affordable to many people who otherwise could not afford to rent any accommodation. But both the rates of Housing Benefit, and its administrative rules, can also limit its value to some homeless people, particularly young single homeless people. The current system can:

• Restrict access to the private rented sector for young people;
• Cause someone to have to leave home before they are ready;
• Act as a disincentive to work; and
• Impede efforts to improve educational qualifications.

UK Housing Benefit Policy  

Housing Benefit policy is the responsibility of the UK Government  (the Department of Work and Pensions).

Specific areas of current policy which are questionable from a homelessness perspective include:

• The Single Room Rent restriction: whereby those aged under 25 currently qualify for lower levels of Housing Benefit than those aged 25 and over.  This both restricts their options in the private rented sector and can lead to higher shortfalls between the amount of benefit and the actual rent.
• Non-dependent deductions: The policy whereby, when the child of a benefit claimant who lives with that claimant reaches the age of 18, the claimant suffers a reduction in their Housing Benefit.  These deductions can cause some young people to leave home before they are ready.
• Benefit-run on restrictions: The restrictions of the recently introduced benefit run-on scheme to those who were previously claiming Income Support or JobSeeker's Allowance for at least six months and only if the job lasts for five weeks or more can undermine incentives to find work.
• Payment in arrears: The first Housing Benefit payment is always paid in arrears.  As well as causing potential financial difficulties for the claimant, it can also act as a disincentive for landlords to let to claimants.
• 16-hour rule: The restriction that anyone over the age of 18 cannot claim Housing Benefit if they are studying for more than 16 hours a week.  This can impede the efforts of claimants to study for further qualifications.

The government is currently reviewing proposals for reform of the Housing Benefit system, which were outlined in the January 2006 Welfare Reform Green Paper A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work.  Reforms broadly constitute a national roll out of the Local Housing Allowance pilot scheme in the private rented sector.  Whilst this represents a major change to the administration of the benefit, it does not contain any proposals to change the underlying rules and regulations, including those listed above.

Scotland Specific Housing Benefit Policy 

Scottish Executive policy is restricted to potentially lobbying the UK Government about issues of concern.  The main areas of concern are the SRR restriction and Non-dependent Deductions.

Wales Specific Housing Benefit Policy

Welsh Assembly policy is restricted to potentially lobbying the UK Government about issues of concern.  The Welsh Assembly's main concerns relate to: the Single Room Rent restriction and the Local Housing Allowance.  The Assembly also promotes a number of initiatives that might help alleviate problems associated with Housing Benefit. 

Commentary on Housing Benefit Policy 

Organisations working with the homeless should take advantage of the opportunity presented by government plans to reform Housing Benefit, to (once again) press the government to ensure that the Housing Benefit system fully meets the needs of single homeless people and people who are at risk of homelessness.

Specific policy recommendations include:

• Removal of the SRR
• Review current non-dependent deductions
• Benefit run-on entitlement should be widened
• First payment, at least in part, in advance
• The 16-hour rule should be abolished

Page last modified on 22/06/2006 at 16:06