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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Homelessness fear in countdown to New Year housing benefit cuts
December 23, 2011 1:58 PM
• [Dec 22]: THE Leader of Richmond Liberal Democrats has warned that government housing benefit cuts due to take effect from the new year will cause severe hardship to many borough residents and could make many families homeless.
Richmond upon Thames is one of the top 50 worst affected local authorities in the country by the reductions in housing benefit. According to housing charity Shelter, households in the borough living in a 3-bedroom flat or house will be £91 per month worse off under these changes. This will result in families being forced to move and an increase in the number of people presenting themselves as homeless to the council.
Cllr Stephen Knight, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition on Richmond Council said: "The government's cut to the local housing allowance is having a terribly bad effect in Richmond as local rents are much higher than average. So far the cuts have only affected new claims, but from 1st January existing claimants will start to see their housing benefit cut. This will leave many hard-up families in Richmond unable to pay their rent.
"We have already seen a huge jump in the use of temporary accommodation this year as a result of new claimants not being able to find affordable accommodation and the situation is about to get much worse. Sadly we are going to see an increase in evictions, rent arrears, homelessness and an increased demand for temporary accommodation. This will place even greater pressure on the council to deal with increased demand for accommodation from people who had previously been able to rent in the private sector."
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