The announcement in the Tory Autumn Statement that Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is being restored to the 30th percentile, meaning rents for the cheapest three in ten places in an area are covered, might seem to give tenants some help with soaring rents. Most reporting of this crumb from the rich man’s table is that it will be frozen again at next year’s levels.
So who is this aimed at? Landlords with increased mortgage payments giving them time to prepare a blizzard of possession proceedings.
LHA has been frozen since 2020, based on rents in 2018-19, while private rents have risen rapidly to their highest recorded levels. Tenants need real help – genuinely affordable rents and rent controls.
