Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the proportion of single room properties that were affordable for local housing allowance claimants in each region of England in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent period for which data is available.
In 2010, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were set at the 50th percentile of local rents, so half of non-housing benefit properties in the private rented sector were available within the LHA rate.
The proportion of non-housing benefit single room accommodation available within the LHA rate by region in England for 2018/19 are as follows:
East Midlands | 15% |
Eastern | 13% |
London | 8% |
North East | 14% |
North West | 15% |
South East | 14% |
South West | 15% |
West Midlands | 16% |
Yorkshire & The Humber | 21% |
Note: figures are exclusive of housing benefit properties as the lettings data used to calculate the LHA is exclusive of tenancies where the claimant is in receipt of housing benefit.
There are no current plans to extend or maintain the LHA Freeze after March 2020. Specific decisions on how to uprate the Local Housing Allowance rates from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support of fiscal events later this year.