Spring budget a missed opportunity to prevent rising homelessness

Saskia Neibig, Senior Policy and Parliamentary Affairs Officer

16.03.2023

The spring budget failed to deliver support for people struggling to keep their homes.

This week, the Chancellor stood up in the House of Commons to tell us about the state of the economy and his priorities for it.

Despite increases in homelessness and rapidly rising rents, there was hardly any mention of the housing crisis, or any additional support for people struggling to keep their homes.

Currently, many people on low incomes are facing rent costs that they simply can’t afford. Crisis, alongside a broad coalition of other organisations, has been calling on the Government to increase housing benefit so that it covers at least the bottom third of local rents in an area. This is one of the most effective actions the UK Government can take to reduce the numbers of people facing homelessness.

An incredible 3,400 of you contacted your MP over the past few weeks as part of our campaign to end the housing benefit freeze. We reached more than 500 MPs across Britain.

But despite this, the Government chose to maintain the housing benefit freeze in this year's budget.

This is a huge missed opportunity to support people struggling to pay their rent or finding it difficult to move on from homelessness because they can’t afford private rents. It will mean even more people are forced into homelessness over the coming months.

Affordable housing prevents homelessness

High housing costs in the private rented sector mean that people have very little disposable income, especially as the cost of food, energy and other essentials are also rising.

People up and down the country have told us just how hard this is to manage. One person we spoke to said:

“I was in a situation where I wasn’t even earning enough money to be able to pay for the rent that I had currently for two years been paying, which was £870 a month, plus all of the other bills. And then of course when [the landlord] came back to me he said ‘I put it up to £1,200 because that is the going rate’ and I just thought I have no hope in hell of being able to find that extra money, because it was hand to mouth pretty much at the time” 

For private renters on the lowest 10 per cent of incomes, the combined average cost of just their rent, food and utilities exceed their total incomes by an average of 43 per cent.

This puts people at high risk of personal debt, rent arrears and eviction. Crisis research into the cost of living crisis found that people were unable to afford food, medication or to see family members.

Housing benefit is well targeted at those on the lowest incomes, and investing in it ensures that people can use the rest of their income to eat, take care of their health, relationships and work

Genuinely affordable housing is a foundation for being able to work and thrive

As well as the devastating impact that homelessness has on the people experiencing it, this is a missed opportunity for the economy too. The budget set out to increase employment, and investing in housing benefit would help with that.

A safe and settled home is the foundation on which people can thrive and build a better future for themselves. Not having a home makes everyday activities like eating, commuting, sleeping and personal hygiene very difficult.

It’s hard to sleep, wash your clothes and charge your phone while homeless. People have described how being tired, stressed and unwell makes it hard to perform at work the way they want to, making it hard to hold down a job. All too often homelessness pushes people out of work.

Fighting to end homelessness

The budget could have supported people struggling to pay their rent or finding it difficult to move on from homelessness because they can’t afford to. It could have helped people out of homelessness and into work.

But instead, more people are likely to be forced into homelessness over the coming months. That’s simply unacceptable.

At Crisis, we aren’t giving up. Our research and campaigning will always work to fight for a safe, secure and affordable home for everyone.

• Next week, we’ll be in Westminster to meet with MPs to discuss how to make sure private renters are better protected from eviction and unsafe homes
• Our services are continuing to end people’s homelessness across Great Britain. You can support our work with a donation here
• Join our community for change and receive the latest ways you can take action to end homelessness straight to your inbox.