People in Lancaster 'pushed into deep poverty and hardship' due to gap between Universal Credit and rent costs

And Citizens Advice North Lancashire said that of the rent arrears cases they are helping clients with at the moment, the average debt is over £1,000.

Helen Greatorex, Chief Officer at the organisation said that due to the pandemic, many people have lost their jobs or are unable to find work and there are worries that this is going to affect many more people in the coming weeks and months.

The government said it had changed the law in England to ensure bailiffs do not enforce evictions until January in all Covid-19 tiers, with no eviction notices to be served until January 11 and, given the 14-day notice period, no evictions are expected until January 25 at the earliest.

Local Housing Allowance rates are used to calculate the maximum amount of housing support a household on Universal Credit can receive, based on local rental prices and the number of bedrooms they need.

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom property in Lancaster was £576 during the 12 months to September, the latest Office for National Statistics figures show.

But households assessed as requiring two bedrooms could only be entitled to around £525 per month in 2020-21, which would leave the average renter £51 short.

LHA rates are set according to Broad Rental Market Areas, which have been matched to council areas by Shelter.

In places where more than one BRMA covers an area, the charity matched the BRMA most likely to apply to local renters.

LHA rates cover the bottom 30% of rents in a local area for a given property size, but Shelter says that this does not cover the costs for many on benefits.

The charity says more than two in five private renting households now need help with housing benefit, which it says is "clear proof that there are just not enough genuinely affordable homes to go around".

“Hundreds of thousands of private renters have found themselves struggling to pay their rent during the pandemic because they’ve lost income," said the charity's chief executive Polly Neate.

"Many have applied for housing benefit in a bid to safeguard their home, only to find the support available doesn’t come close to covering their costs – especially if they are paying average rents. Countless families are falling into debt and rent arrears as a result.

"Worse yet, the benefit cap means some families in financial dire straits are losing out on the help they need as this cruel and unnecessary cap is fixed regardless of people’s actual rent costs."

The Government should review housing benefit levels to stop people becoming homeless and scrap the benefit cap, she added.

Helen Greatorex, Chief Officer at North Lancashire Citizens Advice said: "Many of our clients are struggling to manage the shortfall between their Universal Credit housing element and their actual rent. We know this due to the numbers of people we help with both debt and benefit checks, and it's a particular problem for renters in Lancaster where rents are higher.

"As a result, people are pushed into deep poverty and hardship as they have to make up the shortfall from the benefit money they are awarded to live off.

"Foodbank referrals in our area are very high which is a sign that the benefits system is not providing people with enough money for the basics."

"Of the rent arrears cases we are helping clients with at the moment, the average debt is over £1000.

"In the past year we have dealt with over 1000 client cases and we are expecting these numbers to rise in 2021."

"Due to the pandemic, many people have lost their jobs or are unable to find work so we are worried that this is going to affect many more people in the coming weeks and months.

"Along with Shelter and Citizens Advice nationally we would call on the Government to consider increasing the housing allowance rates, and not to reduce Universal Credit in April 2021 as planned."

"Citizens Advice North Lancashire can offer advice and support to people, so if residents are concerned about their housing situation or are in arrears and need help, they can call our team of expert advisers for assistance."

Citizens Advice is working remotely due to the pandemic. Residents can call the Adviceline on 03444 889622 or they can email advice by emailing [email protected]

A government spokesman said: “We have taken unprecedented action to protect renters during this pandemic, including increasing Local Housing Allowance rates – benefiting more than 1 million households by £600 a year on average.

“We have also changed the law in England to ensure bailiffs do not enforce evictions until January in all tiers, with no eviction notices to be served until January 11 and, given the 14-day notice period, no evictions are expected until January 25 at the earliest.”