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Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans: Assessing the affordability of the private rented sector for LHA recipients in Scotland

This report was funded by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland in partnership with Fife Council to examine the housing affordability problems associated with the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and its impact on the private rented sector (PRS). The report builds on recent work by Crisis, the Bevan Foundation, and the Institute of Fiscal Studies, among others, that suggested that the decisions to reduce, cap and then freeze LHA rates have reduced the affordability of the lower end of the PRS.

This report, focused on the Scottish PRS (SPRS), goes further by both highlighting the difficulties in reaching a clear sense of what is and is not affordable, the quality of the data used, and surfaces other methodological questions regarding rent information. It then estimates (at aggregate and more local levels) the proportions of those in receipt of LHA who face financial shortfalls, as well as how much it might cost in Scotland to restore LHA to the 30th percentile and indeed to restore to its original median value (50th percentile).

The report also recommends proposals to improve the quality of rental data, improve the underlying methodology of LHA, challenge UK wide assumptions about benefit levels and design, and systemically makes the case for expanded affordable housing supply.

View the report here.

 
        

 

Date: November 16, 2023 2:24 pm

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