Last week, Chancellor George Osborne laid out plans to increase the age threshold for the shared room rate in housing benefit from 25 to 35. This means that single people under 35-years-old will receive a lower rate of housing benefit to pay rent on a single bedroom in a shared house, rather than a whole flat, from 2012.
The spending review also gave social landlords the right to raise rents for new tenants, while the government is planning to cut housing benefit by 10 per cent for anyone in receipt of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for more than a year.
Balbir Chatrik, head of policy at Centrepoint, told CYP Now that the cumulative affects of these policies, plus the lifting of the ringfence on homelessness grants to local authorities, could leave vulnerable young people unable to access housing.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
