UK Government continues freeze on housing benefit

At the Autumn Budget on 25 November, the UK Government confirmed that Local Housing Allowance – the rate which sets housing benefit – will be frozen until at least 2027.

This is a further real terms cut in support for those of us who need it most.

No one should be forced into homelessness because they can’t afford their rent. This could be the reality for thousands more low-income households in the coming months.

In the run-up to the budget, we fought hard for the Chancellor to end this freeze.

This decision is disappointing. But we stood up for what’s right – and that matters.

How will this budget impact homelessness?

There were positive measures in the Budget to help address poverty, including the removal of the two-child limit for claiming child benefit. This is hugely welcome and will help struggling parents with the rising cost of day-to-day living.

What the Budget doesn’t do, however, is help hundreds of thousands of households across Great Britain who are homeless or at risk.

Our research with Zoopla shows that just 2.7% of properties listed in Great Britain are affordable to those of us who rely on housing benefit to pay their rent.

This is already forcing people to make impossible choices between rent and essentials like food and heating, pushing many deeper into poverty and ill health.

The choice to keep housing benefit frozen, and wildly out-of-step with the true cost of rents, will directly lead to a rise in homelessness.

You helped us build a strong and impactful campaign

Despite the disappointing news, over the past few months you and all Crisis supporters helped build one of the strongest campaigns on housing benefit we’ve ever mounted:

• 11,000 of you wrote to Rachel Reeves – a huge show of support for people facing homelessness.
• 5,000 of you emailed your MP with local data to help them understand the impact in their constituency.
• You helped us meet with 54 MPs and peers on this issue, which led to dozens of questions in Parliament.
• We got media splashes in the Guardian and I News and many other publications – putting issue in the public eye.

And in the week before the budget, we came together with 15 other organisations to issue a strong, united challenge to the Chancellor.

Our mission is all about making sure no one in Britain is left without the foundation of a safe home. That mission doesn’t end here. Not even close.

Our new research shows that almost 300,000 households are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness in England alone. So, we’ll keep campaigning, for as long as it takes.

Now, we’re urging the UK Government to ensure that their soon-to-be-published homelessness strategy is bold, ambitious and will genuinely end homelessness for good.

That includes urgently reconsidering the ongoing freeze on housing benefit.

Join our campaign for a future free from homelessness.

Join the campaign