Rent supplement cuts result in extreme hardship - report

Large numbers of vulnerable people are experiencing "extreme hardship" as a result of cuts to the rent supplement, the first report from the voluntary sector on the issue has found.

The report, Creating Crisis: The Impact Of Rent Supplement Restrictions, was jointly published yesterday by the Centrecare charity and the Citizens Information Service.

It says the Government has cut holes in the housing safety net "by removing eligibility to the scheme for many people".

In the absence of sufficient social housing, the supplement had prevented thousands from falling into housing deprivation, it adds.

The cut to the supplement was announced in the Estimates last year, and introduced at the end of January.

Since then people seeking the allowance must be renting already for six months and have their housing needs assessed by their local authority.

A vigorous campaign was mounted against the cut by up to 20 organisations working with the homeless, single parents, the unemployed, refugees and asylum-seekers and returning emigrants.

Though Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) were told they had discretion in the implementation of these changes, and may grant the supplement to people verified as homeless, they were told to exercise these discretionary powers minimally.

The report is based on interviews with 91 individuals who have had problems accessing rent support.

Among them is a young pregnant woman hoping to leave home after the birth of her baby.

"Her parents are not happy with her and she wants a stress-free home environment for the child.

"However, obtaining her own place is impossible for her as she cannot get rent supplement without six months' rental history."

Another is the case of a recovering homeless alcoholic who is staying with friends "and is reluctant to stay in homeless hostels because of the drug and drink culture".

"He wants to get housing, find work and move on with his life but he has been informed that to have any hope of obtaining rent supplement he must access approved emergency accommodation."

The report also raises concerns about the inconsistency of decision making by CWOs.

Other groups working with affected groups too report adverse impact of the cut.

A spokesman for the housing charity, Threshold, when asked if the impact had been negative answered: "Of course. Evidence from our services show that the groups worst affected are returning emigrants, people with a crisis pregnancy, people moving from rural areas to urban areas seeking employment, single homeless men," the spokesman said.

The Simon Communities also report a detrimental impact on these groups from the impact of the cut.

Among the report's recommendations are that the new rules be applied uniformly across the health boards, that a transparent monitoring scheme be put in place and that unless there is a "fundamental change in the way housing for low-income people is subsidised" that the current rent supplement scheme "remain in place".