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Government confirms 1% rent reduction will not apply to supported housing

After months of discussion and hearing evidence from across the sector, the Minister of State for Welfare Reform has announced that the Government will put in place a "year-long exception for all supported accommodation from the 1% rent reduction in the Social Rented Sector."

The Government confirmed yesterday that the 1% Rent Reduction which was due to come in on the 1st April 2016 will not apply to supported housing.

While the suspension - announced by Lord Freud in a letter to Homeless Link and confirmed in his address to the House of Lords on Wednesday evening - is only initially for a year, we believe it is an important change which addresses an immediate concern for services that were threatened by the potential reduction in their rental income. Beyond this change, we look forward to working constructively with Government, other key stakeholders and our members to address other funding concerns agencies have, such as the LHA caps.

Part of the reason we were able to secure this change was because of the evidence we gathered from our members. We are currently asking homelessness accommodation services to share with us the impact of the proposed LHA changes on the future viability of their service, so do please continue to share your evidence with us.

We would like to publicly thank everyone who has worked with us on the 1% campaign and we believe it shows the value of collective voices and a strong evidence base in shaping policy.

Read the full letter from Lord Freud to Homeless Link below or click here to download a PDF version.

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What are the real implications of the 1% reduction

Since the 1% reduction in social housing rents was announced in July, there have been reports that supported accommodation will be exempted – however, nothing is certain yet so it’s essential we keep pushing for our amendment to the Bill.

Capping of social housing rents - what impact will it have on your service?

The proposed capping of social housing rents at Local Housing Allowance levels could have a devastating impact on homelessness services. Help us make the case to Government about the effect it could have on the support you provide.

Channel website: http://www.homelesslink.org.uk

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