The RLA is using some pretty strong language to describe recent government policy decisions that affect the private rented sector.
They say the housing policy is on the brink of collapsing into a complete shambles and they back it up with what they consider to be example after example of decisions with terrible consequences.
The first thing they point to is the chancellor’s announcement that there will be a cap placed on benefits.
As RLA director Chris Town puts it “coupled with other measures, this is going to have serious consequences for housing provision in the UK
A benefit cap is totally out of touch with the obvious reality of a UK housing market that, like many other living costs, varies according to where you live and local property prices.”
The scope for trouble with this is huge. As the RLA points out the cap should be area specific. The perception that people living in more salubrious areas are dwelling in big luxury mansions is not backed by any evidence. Mostly these people are families living modestly in the area in which they were born and grew up.
The obvious consequence of a blanket cap is that people are forced out of the communities that have been their homes for decades, perhaps even generations. A side effect of this will be the severing of very important community ties.
This is clearly not the time for that kind of thing. People are doing it tough enough already without being forced away from their support networks.