Key facts
- Hundreds of thousands of low-income UK households are struggling to afford rent, food, and heating.
- The gap between local housing allowance (LHA) rates and actual rents is widening.
- Laura Braddock pays £550 in rent but receives £425 in housing allowance, a £125 shortfall.
- Trussell estimates 62% of private renters receiving housing support have gone without food and heating in the past six months.
- The Resolution Foundation estimates the average rent-housing allowance gap is £158 per month.
- Trussell wants LHA to be linked to the cheapest 30% of local rents.
Hundreds of thousands of low-income households in the UK are facing difficult choices between paying rent, buying food, and staying warm due to a widening gap between housing benefit rates and local rental costs. Laura Braddock, a single mother from Wirral, exemplifies this struggle, paying £550 a month for her two-bedroom flat while receiving only £425 in housing allowance, leaving her with a £125 shortfall. She has resorted to strategies like paying only half the gas bill and eating cheap meals or skipping her own to make ends meet.
In January, Braddock was forced to visit a food bank for the first time in years, highlighting the increasing pressure on vulnerable households. She noted the stress impacts her mental health and parenting. Trussell, a food bank network, stated that over half (62%) of private renters receiving housing support have gone without food and heating in the past six months because they could not afford them. The network estimates this gap is expected to reach record levels this autumn.
The Resolution Foundation thinktank reported that the average difference between rent and housing allowance for a two-bedroom home in the private sector is £158 per month, escalating to as much as £324 in parts of London. Trussell is campaigning for the government to relink housing allowance rates to the cheapest 30% of local rents, estimating this could lift 105,000 people out of severe hardship by 2028-29, at an estimated annual cost of £2 billion.
Campaigners plan to focus on the housing allowance gap in the lead-up to the next budget, arguing it would provide much-needed relief for low-income families. Beatrice Orchard, head of policy at Trussell, stated that rising rents and frozen housing allowances are forcing people to food banks. While governments have historically been hesitant to fully match rents with housing support, fearing rent inflation or tenants moving to more expensive properties, Braddock believes matching the allowance to going rates would prevent people from struggling to pay rent and avoid unnecessary moves.