TORY RENT TIMEBOMB
GEORGE Osborne has left Theresa May facing a housing crisis - thanks to a vicious measure which will cause even more misery than the hated Bedroom Tax.
Nearly 1.3 million people on low incomes could struggle to stay housed as the ex-Chancellor’s housing benefit freeze bites for those renting privately.
It demolishes the PM’s vow to create a country that works for everyone, and brings more pressure on social housing, where new tenants face the cap from 2018.
Figures from the Commons library show the freeze in Local Housing Allowance, which pays private rent, will price hundreds of thousands from the market.
Already eight in 10 find housing benefit no longer covers their rent. The charity Shelter predicts 320,000 families will face huge shortfalls in cash. By 2020 rents in some areas will be up to double the allowance. In the South East and East of England tenants will face finding £100 extra a week.
The cap, from April, means families are limited to £290 a week for a two-bed property, rising to £400 for a four-bed or bigger until 2020. By then rents for twobeds will be £600 in some areas. Shelter’s Kate Webb said: “Some people will face homelessness.”
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