Will Labour ever turn to PRS landlords to help them out?
10 months ago | 21 comments
Angela Rayner accuses landlords of profiting from local housing allowance
9:38 AM, 10th July 2025, 9 months ago
44
Angela Rayner has rejected calls to unfreeze the local housing allowance (LHA) arguing that increasing LHA rates would simply funnel more money to landlords.
In a Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (HCLG) session on the spending review, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner rejected calls to unfreeze the Local Housing Allowance, emphasising that the solution was to “not give money to private landlords” and focus instead on building more homes.
Ms Rayner also accused landlords of evicting families without excuse, then hiking rents and putting someone else in their place.
Not give money to private landlords
Florence Eshalomi, chair of the HCLG, questioned Ms Rayner over the government’s stance on the Local Housing Allowance and said the freeze was pushing families into poverty. She asked whether a case was being made to review the allowance.
The Conservative government announced an end to the four-year freeze to LHA rates in 2023; however, the Labour government froze the LHA rates again during the Budget last year.
Ms Rayner swerved Ms Eshalomi’s question and claimed the government is working to alleviate the pressures on homelessness, adding that it is spending £34 billion per year on housing support, including £12 billion in the private rented sector.
However, Ms Rayner blamed landlords for benefiting from Local Housing Allowance payments.
She told the committee: “In the longer term, the only way we are going to fix this crisis is not by giving more money to private landlords for people who should be in social housing; we need to have a social housing revolution.
“That is why I have been so bold as to push for the biggest increase in the Affordable Homes Programme, alongside the rent convergence.”
Landlords evict families with no excuse
Ms Eshalomi then fired back at Ms Rayner and asked: “Whether the local housing allowance freeze is a political choice by the government to push children into poverty.”
Ms Rayner again talked about the government’s funding commitment to housing support, but then repeated that private landlords were to blame.
She said: “We are investing by putting money into local housing allowance, but the truth is that the way to fix the problem is not by having significant rent increases under private landlords who put social tenants in private accommodation.
“The way to fix the problem is to have more social housing for people who desperately need it.”
NRLA warning on LHA
Ms Eshalomi pointed out that even the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has spoken of the impact of the local housing allowance. The NRLA has extensively campaigned to restore the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents.
Ms Rayner argued the government was building 1.5 million homes to tackle the crisis, but Ms Eshalomi said: “We can’t build homes fast enough. In the interim, they are renting in the private rented sector, but a lot of them are not able to rent locally because of the freeze on the local housing allowance.”
Ms Rayner again did not answer the question and, once again, blamed landlords, saying: “Again, on top of that, we have the Renters’ Rights Bill, with its protections, and the extra money we set aside for homelessness prevention.
“Local councils can look at some of that for ways to prevent homelessness and at section 21 no-fault evictions, along with other challenges that families face that lead them into homelessness in the first place.
“We have seen landlords evict families, with no excuse, and then ramp up the rent and put somebody in. That is because the housing market is in such a dire situation. We have taken measures to try to prevent some of those egregious practices, as the same time as building the homes that we need.”
Despite Ms Rayner’s claim landlords evict for no reason, the English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report for 2021-2022 reveals that the majority of renters (77%) ended their last tenancy because they wanted to move, not because of eviction.
Watch a clip of Angela Rayner from the committee below
Tags:
Abolition of Section 21 Evictions, Angela Rayner, Housing Secretary, LHA freeze, Local Housing Allowance, Private Landlords, renters rights bill, social housing, Tenant eviction
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Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3237 - Articles: 81
11:49 AM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
She’s hurting tenants by not unfreezing LHA.
And she’d make less homeless by unfreezing it.
At least don’t make any more homeless while she build this pie in the Sky 1.5 million homes.
Not the other way round:
We not paying enough rent for homes u need now.
And we gonna be 10+ years before we may get u some more Council homes..by that time, another 6 million will be in this country, so I won’t get any of them Council homes anyway.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1997
11:53 AM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 10/07/2025 – 11:49
We all know that she isn’t going to build 1.5 million homes. Much of the money that the government just promised to increase supply of affordable or social housing is going to housing associations to help them buy flats that have already been built but housing associations can’t afford to buy.
The only way that Angela Rayner could possibly come close to making an extra 1.5 million homes available is if she stopped attacking the private rented sector and worked out what would help grow it.
Don’t hold your breath.
Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 44
12:05 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 10/07/2025 – 11:53She must get up early to be that stupid in one day.
Local rates where I live went up April 24 to £924 for a 3 bed, market rate is £1200/£1300 and I have seen more.
I am losing at least £1000 per month on three families who claim benefit, unfortunately they will be looking for new accommodation next Feb 26, why should I keep on subsidising the government.
I agree the government should house these tenants, but we all know this will never happen, with the amount of people being let in to this country, they will never catch up
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1997
12:13 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by graham mcauley at 10/07/2025 – 12:05
How does this compare to what Serco pays?
Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 44
12:27 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 10/07/2025 – 12:13
I don’t know to be honest, and don’t care what they pay, although I have heard 25/30% above local rate, but I am not interested in facilitating the rental of properties to people who have broken into this country and are here illegally
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1997
12:30 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by graham mcauley at 10/07/2025 – 12:27
You might not be. But if Serco are able to pay 25/30% above local rates using government funding then it’s not just Angela Rayner having to get up very early to be that stupid in one day.
Angela Rayner and other early risers need to get the Competition and Markets Authority to take a close look at what they are doing.
Member Since January 2015 - Comments: 1431 - Articles: 1
1:04 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Tenants can now work for 18 hours per week without it affecting their benefits. It’s hours not how much they get for those hours I believe.
Might incentivise some to get off their backsides and get even a part-time job..
25 years ago my HB tenant, who worked part-time and when ever got a £1pw raise, was told unless she was offered a job at £20kpa she shouldn’t take it, that she was better off on benefits. The amount now is +£25k.
Member Since September 2022 - Comments: 55
2:47 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Your government is saying there is nothing wrong with homelessness. So much so you are repealing the vagrancy act. What’s the problem then if someone is homeless. You are pretending to care for people. Landlords that remove then put tenants in for higher rents are just adjusting to market conditions. The previous tenant could not pay or was not suitable therefore life moves on. Now you can pay for the bad tenants and my guess is there are more of them than bad landlords.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1997
2:56 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Darren Sullivan at 10/07/2025 – 14:47
One of the bigger opportunities for landlords at the moment appears to be the contract with Serco because if it’s true that they’ll pay 25/30% above market rates and manage your tenants for you it’s more attractive than housing homeless people or benefits tenants.
There are a lot of things that people do in life that have good intentions and for which there are unintended consequences. All those well-meaning, middle-class kids that go off to Africa to volunteer in orphanages mean well, as do their parents. But if you are a family in a poor part of Africa and you have nine kids it might be the best option for one of your kids to become an “orphan” and be housed, fed, clothed and educated at somebody else’s expense. It creates a market that drives people towards the “orphanage”.
And if in order to save on the asylum-seeker-hotel-bill that is coming out of the foreign-aid-budget the government pays Serco to house homeless economic migrants (along with a few asylum seekers) then that creates a market. And for many landlords their best option will be to meet that market demand because under the provisions of the proposed Renters Reform Bill it’s a way less risky option than trying to manage your own tenants. I wouldn’t blame any landlord for doing it…it’s just a consequence of government policy.
In terms of the morality of it if the government wants to pay Serco to house homeless people and give councils extra money for doing it (because they are better at it than councils) then I just think that they shouldn’t discriminate against local homeless people, local families, or local benefits tenants. But of course, if the money is coming out of the Overseas Aid Budget then it’s a different pot. And it’s a different pot that’s available to UK landlords because the government just created a domestic market out of the Overseas Aid Budget.
Member Since December 2023 - Comments: 1573
4:10 PM, 10th July 2025, About 9 months ago
I offer rents that are as low as I can reasonably afford. They range from 61% to 91% of LHA rates.
I usually make a small profit but 24/25 sees me making a loss.
I’m slowly lifting rents up to what LHA rates should be (that is, including inflation from 2024. I aim to keep increases in single figures.