I'm an Advice, Support and Guidance worker for Shelter – the national housing and homelessness charity.
Over the last five years, the number of private renters I've seen facing homelessness has just gone up and up. And one of the biggest issues I've seen private renters face is the freeze on a type of housing benefit, called Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
It used to be okay, and when someone was struggling to pay their rent, LHA would cover the difference. But it's been frozen since April 2016, so often now it just isn't enough.
If a family can't afford to pay their rent, they're going to get evicted. And these are people doing their best, often in work, who simply can't afford the rent.
Even if they do manage to find somewhere cheaper to live, it's almost impossible to find a home big enough. I know of a family of 7 who are living in a two-bedroom home.
In the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor can do something to help the million people who rent privately that could be at risk of homelessness by 2020. It would just be so much easier to keep people in their rented homes, and stop them from becoming homeless if it was unfrozen.
Join me in demanding the Chancellor unfreezes LHA.
