At the moment 34,000 people in Birmingham claim housing benefit but as Housing Benefit is slowly replaced by Local Housing Allowance more and more people will find they cannot afford to pay the rent.
Only 23,000 houses in Birmingham are affordable under LHA and on top of this many private landlords do not accept benefit claimants.
These government attempts to save money on benefits will cause people to lose their homes. Campbell Robb, the chief executive of Shelter said
“The dangerous cocktail of cuts to housing benefit and spiralling rents is making finding a decent home increasingly unaffordable for families across the country.
Those unable or unwilling to move away from their local area may be forced to overcrowd or accept a home in appalling conditions to make ends meet.”
( http://england.shelter.org.uk/news/april_2012/families_priced_out_by_benefits_cap )
This cannot happen, as a network we will make links with those struggling to pay rent and help fight for their home.
