Lha

Around 12,000 mainstream social tenants across Scotland aged under 35 could collectively face an annual rent affordability gap of up to £8.6 million when a UK government cap on housing benefit into force, according to a new report. Under proposals by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Loca

An interim report on the impact of UK government plans to cap housing benefit for social housing tenants aged under 35 has concluded that 21,000 young Scots could face a rent affordability gap of up to £22.6 million annually as a result. Commissioned by the Scottish Government in conjunction with t

Sam Lister As the build up to next month’s general election continues, CIH policy and practice officer Sam Lister takes a closer look at what we’re asking for on welfare policy – one of our key election priorities.

The UK government should scrap plans to base rent allowances for supported housing tenants on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates used for claimants in the private rented sector, according to a joint report by two House of Commons committees. The LHA cap limits the amount of support that can be give

Terrie Alafat The gap between the help with housing costs that young, single people in the private sector get and their rents is making housing virtually inaccessible, new Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) research has revealed.

Ashley Campbell By Ashley Campbell, policy and practice manager at CIH Scotland

The UK Parliament’s work and pensions and communities and local government committees will hear from housing associations and local authorities today on the UK government’s planned shake-up of supported housing funding. The sessions form part of the committees’ joint inquiry into the future of

Three of Scotland’s largest housing associations have joined together to urge the Scottish Government to find a long-term solution on how to fund supported housing to better meet the challenge of an ageing population and help with better integration of health and social care services across the co

In a guest blog for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), Shelter Scotland’s Aoife Deery says there are big questions regarding the future affordability of social housing. Four years ago, when the first wave of welfare cuts was breaking, Shelter Scotland ran a high profile campa

David Bookbinder It might seem trite to term the proposed LHA limits on social housing as ‘Bedroom Tax 2’ but it’s completely legitimate, writes David Bookbinder.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has raised concerns about the inconsistent messaging from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) following their claim the LHA cap - dubbed the Bedroom Tax 2 - will not apply to existing tenants. The DWP statement in a Herald article on 3rd

Bruce Forbes Angus Housing Association director, Bruce Forbes, has accused a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson of “peddling lies and deliberately misleading the public” to justify the Westminster government’s “brutal” cuts to welfare.

Bruce Forbes The director of Angus Housing Association in Dundee has warned that changes to welfare payments could plunge some of the city’s poorest people further into poverty.

Jeane Freeman Minister for social security Jeane Freeman has expressed strong opposition to the UK government on its proposal to limit the number of children in families who can qualify for Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has highlighted that 241,000 more tenants in Scotland will be affected by the announcement that all social housing tenants on Universal Credit will be brought under the new Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap when it is introduced in 2019. Ministe