In a report commissioned for The Guardian newspaper, the Chartered Institute of Housing has estimated that caps to welfare payments that come into force this week will make 810,000 homes unaffordable for tenants on housing benefit and in private rental accommodation. The caps will see the maximum LHA payable fall to between £250 and £400 per week, depending on the number of bedrooms.
The knock-on effect of this will be pressure on landlords to reduce their rent to reflect the new caps, although inner-city landlords are already engaging in the practice of fast-track evictions, evicting tenants and replacing them with those who are prepared to pay more. Whichever way you look at it, rising rents and the shortage of available properties means difficult times ahead for many tenants.
