This year's ARCH/ NFA Welfare Reform Survey "Heads Above
Water"published on 30 June 2021finds little increase in council
housing debt but detects symptoms of a ,so far, less obvious and
worrying pandemic impact that may soon drive up rent arrears across
the social housing sector.
Income officers from councils and Almos, asked how Covid-19 had
affected their tenants' finances, have reported increased use of
foodbanks, increased fuel poverty, increased demand for money/debt
advice services and increased demand for hardship funds and other
surveys in the private rented sector suggest that a significant
spike in homelessness may be around the corner if rising rent
arrears in the private rented sector spark evictions once
government support ends.
The Government has put in huge levels of support through the
Furlough Scheme and other routes, including the temporary £20
uplift in Universal Credit payments, but despite the short-term
support available the need for extra help is alarming.
The pandemic has clearly had a severe impact on tenants. In our
survey, 80% of income officers reported higher rent arrears, 77%
had seen increased demand for support services and 77% reported
increased use of food banks and increased fuel poverty. 74% of
income officers had also seen increased demand for hardship
funds.
However, our survey also shows the massive levels of support
that local authorities and ALMOs have provided to tenants,
particularly intensively during the first few months of COVID-19,
to make sure that they are able to continue to access the services
and help they need to keep a roof over their heads. Despite the
pandemic, local authorities and ALMOs have maintained the services
that they already had in place to support those going onto
Universal Credit, modified them to work during lockdowns, and
upscaled them to respond to the need.
Looking to the future, the fear is that local authorities and
their housing companies have little capacity, either in cash or
housing stock, to cope with increased homeless at a time when local
authority housing stock and lettings are decreasing and significant
numbers of homeless households are already in temporary
accommodation and facing a long wait for a permanent place to
live.
Recent cuts in central government funding for local authority
hardship funds are also expected to hit struggling renters
hard.
Our report sets out 5 main asks of government:
- Remove the five-week wait for the first Universal Credit
payment.
- Retain the £20 uplift to Universal Credit
- Remove the benefit cap and under-occupancy penalty
- Support social housing landlords in their role of providing
employment and training services.
- Build at least 90,000 - 100,000 new socially rented homes a
year to widen access to genuinely affordable rented
accommodation.
ARCH Chief Executive John Bibby comments:
"We would like to thank all ARCH member councils
who contributed to this year's survey. The findings of our
latest survey highlight the credit that must go to the staff of
local authorities and Almos who, throughout the pandemic, have
worked tirelessly to offer support to themany council tenants that
have struggled financially as a result of the pandemic and, through
their efforts have managed to contain rental debt in the council
housing sector broadly in line with pre-pandemic figures.
"In contrast, looking to the future, the
situation in the private rented sector gives cause for concern and
many tenants in the private sector are clearly struggling to meet
their rent and keep a roof over their head - particularly
those that have lost their jobs or seen their income significantly
reduced as a result of the pandemic and have been unable to meet
rents which are generally much higher than those in the public
sector".
"According to government figures, at 31
December 2020, there were already over 95,000 homeless households living in
temporary accommodation and, with the end of the
furlough scheme and the lifting of the eviction ban, there
is concern that over the coming months local authorities will see a
significant further increase in homelessness and the associated
impact on mental and physical health of those made homeless or
threatened with homelessness"
"Now is the time for the government to
address the broken housing market and, alongside measures to help
those who can afford to buy, to build back better by investing in a
new generation of council housing that we can all be proud of and
ensure that those households on lower incomes and/or in insecure
employment can access decent secure housing at affordable
rents".
Chloe Fletcher Policy Director at the NFA
comments:
"If the upheaval of the pandemic has taught us anything, it
is that a healthy housing market needs a good supply of all kinds
of tenure. That means not only more accessible homeownership, but
also sufficient quality social housing to offer secure and
genuinely affordable homes for the lowest paid and most
vulnerable.
"This survey demonstrates the fantastic job councils and
local authority owned housing companies have done for their
residents during this crisis, and how crucial their extra support
has been to them. And, of course, that this support needs to
continue".
Click here to read the full report
"Heads Above Water" - the 2021 ARCH/ NFA Welfare Reform Survey.
Copies of the report have been sent to Ministers and senior
officials at the Department of Work & Pensions and the Ministry
of Housing, Communities & Local Government and we look forward
to continued dialogue with government on the issues raised in the
report.