Rental homes in Chichester unaffordable for those on housing benefit

Analysis of tens of thousands of rental properties across Great Britain shows 98 per cent of all those advertised over one month were beyond the means of people in receipt of Universal Credit or housing benefit. In the Chichester district, out of 75 properties listed, none were affordable for those on housing benefit.

As the cost of living crisis bites and rental prices skyrocket, the Bureau analysed details from more than 40,000 rental adverts for two bedroom properties, comparing them to the Local Housing Allowance rate - the rate at which housing benefit is calculated for those renting privately.

Chichester was one of 19 areas across Great Britain, which also included Central London, Swindon, Ipswich and South Devon, where there was not a single affordable two-bed property throughout all of July.

The Local Housing Allowance for the Chichester district for a two-bed home is £189.86 per week, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that this would need to be increased by £74.80 a week – or £325.01 a month – to make local rental housing affordable to those receiving the benefit.

The investigation looked at two-bedroom properties across the Chichester district, including in Chichester City, Midhurst, Fishbourne and East Wittering. Prices ranged from £925 a month in Midhurst to £2,500 in the city centre.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “These findings back up what we are seeing in our frontline services every day - that finding a safe home if you are on a low income is now like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Housing benefit should be the safety net that stops people becoming homeless, but it’s frozen at 2020 levels leaving renters desperately trying to make up the shortfall.

“The number of households in England found to be homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless at the start of this year jumped by 11 per cent in three months. Now, record-high private rents and rocketing prices are leaving even more renters fighting to keep a roof over their heads. The housing emergency is at the core of the cost-of-living crisis, but it is being ignored.

“The new Prime Minister needs to get a grip on housing before even more people lose their homes this winter. Housing benefit must be restored, otherwise struggling families, who’ve got nothing left to cut back on, will have no hope of paying private rents.”

Anny Cullum, policy and research officer at ACORN, told the Bureau: “The problem of housing benefits discrimination remains, and while it is illegal to discriminate directly against benefit claimants, it’s often difficult to prove this and enforcement from local authorities is lacking.

“These findings also make it clear that rents are far too high. If the Government is serious about getting a handle on the growing housing crisis, they need to work to bring down spiralling rents which are increasingly inaccessible to many people.”