Government pledges £65m to help vulnerable renters

Vulnerable renters in England who have fallen into arrears during the pandemic will be helped with a £65m support package this winter, the UK government announced on Monday (25 October).

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said that councils in England will be able to use the funding to support low income earners who are behind on their rent.

Some 950,000 households are thought to be in rent arrears, according to anti-poverty charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

This funding is in addition to the £500m Household Support Fund announced in September to help families struggling with bills and essentials. At the time, this package was also described as insufficient support for low income families facing rising living costs.

However, debt charity StepChange say additional support will be needed to help tenants who face a £360m rent debt backlog built up over the course of the pandemic.

Peter Tutton, head of policy, research and public affairs at StepChange, said: “This additional £65m of rent arrears support for low income earners is helpful. While more will be needed to turn the tide on the backlog of rent arrears built up during the pandemic, it should reduce the immediacy of the mounting eviction pressure facing some of the most vulnerable households with the most entrenched rent problem debt.”

Budget support

Following Wednesday’s budget, landlord organisations and charities have welcomed the increase in National Living Wage but says more needs to be done to help the most vulnerable households.

Chris Norris, policy director for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said: “With warnings that rent debts could pose a risk to the economic recovery and the government admitting that many landlords are highly vulnerable to arrears, the chancellor must go further.”

Peter Tutton of StepChange, said: “Alongside longer term reform, we would urge the government to stand ready to offer further support, beyond the budget measures announced [on Wednesday], to those who need it most.”