LHA Freeze

This is another short post – apologies as I’m feeling a bit ropey (bad cold).  There are various levers we have in Wales to enable policy-makers to do interesting things, which are progressive.  These levers are pulled, as we have seen with the suite of private sector legislation in place, and amendments to homelessness duties, for example.  There are important interventions on the horizon too, as foreshadowed by the Minister and reported in previous blog posts.  But, ultimately, we are stymied by Westminster, and in particular by its refusal to raise the Local Housing Allowance (:HA).  The LHA is a flat rate figure depending on bedroom need which most recipients get by way of the housing element of universal credit.  It was last raised in the 2024 budget after a lengthy freeze.  It has been frozen again this year.  This is a disaster for housing standards.  We are asking our private landlords to do more to maintain housing standards; we might even want to extend the WHQS to them.  We are even going to increase taxes on them, which will be passed on to tenants through increased rents.  Our concern is not with what I would call yuppie flats (showing my age) or student housing, but the housing on which local authorities rely to meet their homelessness duties and low/no income households rely as their homes.  It’s all very well having lofty aims as Burnham does to reduce rooflessness, but this freeze is a foot-shooting event.