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Celebrate the end of the LHA cap
Theresa May’s U-turn on the Local Housing Allowance cap is significant and should be welcomed, writes Emma Maier
A week after government ordered its MPs to abstain from an opposition day debate vote on pausing Universal Credit, Theresa May faced another bruising encounter, this time on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap.
The prime minister needed to be on the front foot, so chose Prime Minister’s Questions to take back control.
The announcement came after almost two years of lobbying – this significant about-turn will be welcomed by landlords and tenants alike.
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Had it been implemented, the cap would have had a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable, including young people (some of them care leavers), survivors of domestic violence and those in supported housing.
Despite plans for a council top-up fund, landlords lacked certainty and feared the fund would be insufficient, insecure and vulnerable to future cuts.
Meanwhile, analysis of Welsh Government data by Community Housing Cymru found the policy would “make social housing unaffordable for those it was built for”.
It wasn’t only current tenants in the line of fire – the impact would have been felt into the future. With uncertainty over future rents, landlords were forced to put development of new supported housing on hold.
In an Inside Housing survey two months after the policy was announced, 95% of supported housing providers said they would be forced to wind up schemes if the policy was introduced, and 18% had already frozen schemes.
By August this year, National Housing Federation research showed housing associations had reduced planned supported housing developments by 85%.
The government initially promised a green paper on supported housing funding in the spring. Details will now be released next week. It won’t be a moment too soon – it is vital to get frozen schemes moving and new developments planned.
Sprinklers are essential
Inside Housing’s Never Again campaign launched in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster calls on government to fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in tower blocks across the UK, except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so.
Housing minister Alok Sharma has so far refused, describing sprinkler systems as “additional rather than essential”. But pressure is mounting.
When we looked at sprinkler installation in 2015, on the sixth anniversary of the Lakanal House fire, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service observed that no-one has died in a tower with a functioning sprinkler system.
Now, Cheshire Fire Authority is helping landlords fund sprinkler installation.
Work is underway in Manchester to explore retrofitting. The London Fire Brigade is also calling for sprinklers in residential towers after commissioner Dany Cotton emphasised that “this can’t be optional”.
There is a growing consensus that sprinklers are absolutely essential. Government must take heed.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
