Government rules out using rental payment history as proof of affordability
5 months ago | 11 comments
Poor tenants shut out of social housing on affordability grounds
12:01 AM, 10th December 2025, 5 months ago
6
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Tenants on the lowest incomes are being blocked from social housing because providers fear they will not be able to afford the rent, research reveals.
A study by homelessness charity Crisis shows housing associations in England are increasingly rejecting applicants following affordability checks carried out before a tenancy begins.
Around a third of English housing associations taking part said those checks frequently uncovered information that led them to conclude an offer was unsuitable.
Almost a quarter said households earning below certain thresholds were at times excluded entirely from housing registers.
That means some poorer applicants never reach the point of being considered for a social home, not because of behaviour or need, but over income issues to sustain a tenancy.
Where will tenants go?
The charity’s chief executive, Matt Downie, said: “Working with people who use our services, we know that people can be excluded from accessing a social home because their incomes are too low to meet the necessary criteria.
“The fundamental aim of social housing is to provide a safe and stable home for people on the lowest incomes.
“If people cannot afford social housing, where do they go?”
He added: “The reckless depletion of our social housing stock, alongside cuts to state support, has put English housing associations into an impossible position where they are forced to refuse access to people in precarious, vulnerable situations.
“Homelessness is surpassing record levels. Its costs to people, communities and local authorities are untenable.”
Change in allocation handling
Nearly three quarters of associations, accounting for 90% of the homes in the sample, said recent changes to benefits had altered how allocations and lettings are handled.
Limits on housing benefit and the benefit cap have pushed providers to scrutinise affordability more closely.
At the same time, associations reported a growing concentration of applicants with complex support needs.
As a result, unless someone faced acute circumstances such as severe ill health or domestic abuse, access to a social tenancy was described as unlikely or subject to long delays.
Even for households that do secure a property, there were fears that inadequate support beyond housing could make keeping the tenancy far harder.
Unsuitable tenants
One in four English housing associations said they often turned down nominations from councils because the proposed let was judged unsuitable.
Some cited the need for costly adaptations or the absence of specialist support as reasons for prioritising certain tenants.
Applicants with a history of anti-social behaviour faced the greatest exclusion.
Three quarters of associations said registers would sometimes or always shut out such households where no support package existed.
Still, more than half said exclusions could apply even when assistance was in place.
How houses are used
Researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence say that housing associations compared the task of allocating scarce properties to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Almost three quarters operating choice-based lettings said the homes available bore little relation to the needs presented, with some doubting any system could prioritise demand given the numbers involved.
Rising repair costs and tighter building standards were also flagged as pressures limiting new development.
Crisis is urging ministers to overhaul how existing stock is used, pointing to Scotland where refusals on suitability grounds are far rarer.
While a quarter of English associations reported frequently rejecting council nominations, just 6% of Scottish providers said the same.
More than half of new social lets north of the border go to homeless households, compared with just over a quarter in England.
Tags:
affordability checks, Homelessness Crisis, housing associations, low-income renters, Social Housing England, social rent shortage, welfare reform housing
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Member Since March 2018 - Comments: 182
9:55 AM, 10th December 2025, About 5 months ago
Surely social housing is meant to be for the needy, the poorest in our society?
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3538 - Articles: 5
10:18 AM, 10th December 2025, About 5 months ago
Applicants with a history of anti-social behaviour faced the greatest exclusion.
And how exactly do the housing associations get to know this info in the first place?
In the PRS we are unable to check if anyone has an ACTUAL conviction for ASBO etc and have to rely on the T offering up this info freely in their application. (how likely is that if they are desperate?)
(NB ironically there is a ground to end a tenancy if the T has found to be lying to acquire accommodation/lead LL into offering it up, yet where is this info to be found that the LL could use as evidence of this???)
Moreover if there is any ASBO but NOT gone as far as a conviction – again how the hell would we know? It could be a string of issues over many months.
If a T comes to me as the council sent them (they are in temp accomm or on the housing list) my way, the council immediately starts quoting GDPR etc when I ask them for a tenant history etc.
So where the hell are housing associations getting this info from exactly to make these ‘suitability’ decisions? Sounds like councils are self judging what info is passed onto housing associations and what is passed onto PRS LL’s…
Member Since June 2015 - Comments: 333
10:20 AM, 10th December 2025, About 5 months ago
How can someone be too poor to qualify for Social Housing?
Most Social rents are way below LHA.
The only time I can think of that someone may be unable to afford Social rent is if they don’t qualify for UC due to immigration status.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3538 - Articles: 5
10:27 AM, 10th December 2025, About 5 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Peter G at 10/12/2025 – 09:55
not when the supply is also limited. It seems housing associations are being very careful themselves over who they offer accommodation to.
Seems like they are happy, even if affordability is met, to reject potential tenants on the basis of ‘suitability’ – the lack of support being offered by the councils as being cited as a justified reason.
Seems like for parity purposes, the PRS has the right to apply the same criteria.
I’d love to know how HA’s ‘reference’ potential tenants exactly, how much info they receive back from Councils….
Member Since June 2019 - Comments: 782
12:04 PM, 10th December 2025, About 5 months ago
This has actually been going on for a while and is known as LEWP which stands for limited entitlement to welfare payments.
So those on full benefits are welcome as the tax payer foots the whole bill. Those with savings or who actually work need to pay something themselves and Housing associations now see them as a risk of non payment.
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 2002 - Articles: 21
12:20 PM, 10th December 2025, About 5 months ago
“[Head of Crisis Matt Downie] added: “The reckless depletion of our social housing stock, alongside cuts to state support, has put English housing associations into an impossible position where they are forced to refuse access to people in precarious, vulnerable situations.
“Homelessness is surpassing record levels. Its costs to people, communities and local authorities are untenable.”
If by depletion he means selling to the private sector, he is wrong. Those houses are usually occupied. Where would the people who occupy them live if the houses had not been sold? The problem is not, for the most part, tenure (public or private) but that not enough new stock has been built. The reason for that? Discouragement of investment in the sector by Government. Try starting with the extra stamp duty land tax imposed on purchasers of houses for investment. Add in onerous regulation of landlords and substantial fines for minor infractions of complex rules. Toss in extra protection for rogue tenants and court backlogs that leave some landlords with no income for 18 months and a five figure bill for repairing damage caused by a nasty tenant. Round off the prescription with a massive dose of vilification of private landlords and you have a housing crisis.
I sympathise with those poor people who cannot get social housing. However, they should be warned. The Renters Rights Act and the EPC requirements will make things worse than they are now.