The gap between Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) and rents in the private rental sector is putting more families at risk of homelessness, according to a new survey from two charities involved in the sector.
While HAP is intended to help families secure a place to live, the reality is that HAP limits are insufficient to allow many on low incomes to secure, private rental accommodation, say the housing charity Threshold and the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP).
Recipients of HAP are allowed to top-up the payment, once the total rent they pay doesn’t exceed 30% of their net income. But this new survey, entitled ‘Housing Assistance Payment (HAP): Making the right impact?’ carried out jointly by the two charities has found that 20% of the tenants surveyed were paying more than the 30% limit, with 10% paying more than 40% of their net income on rent.
