COVID-19 has meant less work or no work at all for too many people. National governments have stepped in with emergency financial assistance. In England, two million people had applied for the emergency financial assistance program (Universal Credit) by the beginning of May. Even with the assistance, many renters fell behind with rent payments. One reason? Universal Credit clients wait up to five weeks to receive their first payment.
The five week waiting period was well documented as a source of rental arrears and evictions before the COVID-19 lockdown.1 Adjusting the regulations to flow the benefit sooner might have made things a bit easier for all of the new Universal Credit clients.
Some of those tenants live in social housing, which is owned by local Councils. Councils are already pressed to manage COVID-19 costs — the national direction to find accommodation for all rough sleepers within 48 hours being just one. The Councils that evict their tenants who are behind in their rent face the prospect of a much larger number of rough sleepers in the near future.
It seems that councils and their tenants are expected to sort out these problems on their own. Apparently that impressive national leadership — displayed when directing councils to find temporary housing for people sleeping rough — rather fizzles away when it comes to providing actual national-level support to a brave initiative.
See in the IslingtonTribune: Lockdown rent arrears soar for council tenants
