‘Cost of housing’ crunch looms for low-income families, warns Resolution Foundation
News Source
•Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:00:40 GMT
📰 What Happened
A thinktank warns that more than 1.1 million low-income families renting privately will face a housing cost crunch. Local housing allowance, the benefit that helps with rent, has been frozen since autumn 2024, while rents kept rising.
A report called Saving Private Renters found that a family in a typical two-bedroom flat faces an average weekly shortfall of 158 pounds. In parts of London the gap is over 300 pounds a week. The thinktank wants the allowance linked to rents again in next month's budget.
Linking the allowance to rents would cost about 2 billion pounds a year by 2029-30. The report suggests paying for it by changing how universal credit is cut as people earn more.
🔍 The Backstory
The Resolution Foundation studies living standards and gives policy advice. It says past changes show about 90 pence of every extra pound of allowance goes to tenants, not landlords.
Surveys quoted in the report found one in five working-age adults on housing support could not afford to keep their homes warm.
🎯 Why It Matters
Rent is the biggest bill for most families. When the allowance falls behind, people skip meals or heating to stay in their homes. The budget decision affects over a million households.
A thinktank warns that more than 1.1 million low-income families renting privately will face a housing cost crunch. Local housing allowance, the benefit that helps with rent, has been frozen since autumn 2024, while rents kept rising.
A report called Saving Private Renters found that a family in a typical two-bedroom flat faces an average weekly shortfall of 158 pounds. In parts of London the gap is over 300 pounds a week. The thinktank wants the allowance linked to rents again in next month's budget.
Linking the allowance to rents would cost about 2 billion pounds a year by 2029-30. The report suggests paying for it by changing how universal credit is cut as people earn more.
The Resolution Foundation studies living standards and gives policy advice. It says past changes show about 90 pence of every extra pound of allowance goes to tenants, not landlords.
Surveys quoted in the report found one in five working-age adults on housing support could not afford to keep their homes warm.
Rent is the biggest bill for most families. When the allowance falls behind, people skip meals or heating to stay in their homes. The budget decision affects over a million households.