Evidence base for preventing homelessness and rough sleeping strategy

Last updated: 1 January 2022 Evidence base for Homelessness Strategy print version (pdf, 731.1 KB)

9. Affordability

The following tables give the local housing allowance rates for the two largest BMRA (Broad Market Rental Areas) in Buckinghamshire – Aylesbury BMRA and Chiltern BMRA. Overall, there are 8 BMRA’s covering parts of Buckinghamshire. The figures are provided for the Aylesbury and Chiltern areas below to illustrate that affordability issues that exist generally with local housing allowance rates in Buckinghamshire.

Table 2 – local housing allowance rates for benefit calculations
Type	Aylesbury weekly figure	Aylesbury monthly equivalent	Chilterns weekly figure	Chilterns monthly equivalent
Single room rate	78.59	340.56	89.75	388.92
1 bed	155.34	673.14	172.60	747.93
2 bed	184.11	797.81	224.38	972.31
3 bed	241.64	1,047.11	287.67	1,246.57
4+ bed	322.19	1,396.16	379.73	1,645.50

Source: Gov.uk website, rates for 2021/22

Source: ONS private rental market statistics to April 21
Type	Mean	LQ	Median	UQ
Single room	580	550	575	600
1 bed	769	695	750	825
2 bed	975	850	900	1,075
3 bed	1,294	1,100	1,250	1,425
4+ bed	2,084	1,475	1,850	2,400

It is clear from the figures above that even the cheapest single room is unaffordable for anyone on benefits, including working households on low incomes. A 1 bed flat is potentially more affordable: the lower quartile market rent is above the LHA rate for Aylesbury Vale but below that for Chilterns. The LHA rate for Chilterns is also below the median market rent. It should be noted however that the LHA rate is higher for Chilterns precisely because rents are higher and it may not be possible to secure any property at the lower quartile or median rates. The figure should also be treated with some caution as the ONS figures are to April 2021 and rents may have risen since then.

There is a similar pattern for 2 and 3 beds. The LHA rate for 2 and 3 beds in Aylesbury is below even the lower quartile market rent, meaning this would be unaffordable. The Chilterns LHA rate for 2 beds is above both the lower quartile and the median rate, so in theory is more affordable, with similar caveats to above. For 3 beds the Chilterns LHA rate is above the lower quartile market rent but below the median, meaning affordability is worsening. For four beds, nothing is affordable in Aylesbury, but a lower quartile market rent is below LHA rates in Chilterns, if a property can be found at the lower quartile rate.

This pattern is not unusual across southern England. The government policy of freezing LHA rates between 2016 and 2020 saw an increasing gap between LHA rates and market rents. Although LHA rates have increased in 2021, this does little to address the underlying gap.