Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in the private rented sector are in receipt of housing benefit; how many and what proportion of those households have rents that exceed the local housing allowance (LHA); and what the median difference was between the cost of rent and the LHA for households where rent exceeds the LHA in each local authority area in the latest period for which data is available.

The information requested if not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30^th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.

The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead, it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.

For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.