Renters of all ages deserve access to a secure and affordable home, and Local Housing Allowance (LHA) can help with this by providing financial support to help with rent. LHA is the mechanism which determines how much Housing Benefit you receive depending on where you live in the country. Originally, it covered the cheapest 30% of the local market.
However, over the last two years the allowance has remained frozen, and this has had a devastating effect on renters, especially those in later life. Research from national charity Independent Age has shown that six in 10 older private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit are cutting back on essentials in order to pay their rent, with more than one in four reducing the extent to which they heat their home.
Independent Age research further shows that many residents in my own Torbay constituency struggle with this issue. Torbay Council has the fifth-highest number of older private renters in the country. By 2040, this number is further projected to treble, to cover 13% of older households nationally.
In the Bay, there is a shocking gap between the rental prices in the area and LHA. For a single person, average rent for a studio/room in a house is £577.22 pcm, yet LHA remains fixed at £503.62. Even before bills and food, the top-up of over £70 per month is unmanageable for many people, especially with food costs already being so expensive and rapidly rising.
From speaking to residents, I understand that our large proportion of older people in Torbay makes the situation even more precarious. They often have a fixed income, which can make price shocks like rent rises very difficult to absorb. And some older private renters have reported being forced to not use the heating in the winter, or heat just one room, because otherwise they won’t be able to keep up with their rent.
We have a shocking lack of social rented housing, with 8% compared to a national average of 17%. Unsurprisingly, the Covid pandemic has superheated the system, resulting in a significant price hike for accommodation in the area as people have come to realise they do not have to live in cities.
Governments have consistently claimed that an uplift in LHA pushes rents up, but according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation, of the April 2024 LHA uplift only a small share of increased support is captured by landlords, with a central estimate of around 10p in every pound of the uplift feeding through to higher rents at the bottom of the market.
I currently sponsor a parliamentary motion, EDM 616, on LHA rates, which notes that fewer than 2% of advertised private rented homes are affordable based on the current LHA, and recognises that this has become significantly worse since this was frozen in 2024. Research from Crisis and Zoopla suggests that in 2021/22, 11.2% of listings for two-bed homes in England were affordable, compared with only 1.1% in 2025/26.
I am calling on the government to review LHA to consider permanently linking it to at least the 30th percentile of local rents, to ensure it keeps up with local changes in housing costs. The Resolution Foundation has warned that failure to act on this risks the gap between LHA and prevailing rents rising to an intolerable 30% by March 2028.
LHA is a lifeline for renters on a low income. I’ve spoken to charities about what they are hearing on the ground. Independent Age told me about a man who, because of the shortfall, eats just a sandwich or toast on some days. How can that be right? This freeze has real-world, devastating effects, and it must end.
