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25 October, 2021 Open access

Government announces £65 million support package to help low-income earners in rent arrears

Households at risk of eviction or homelessness should contact their local council if they require support, says DLUHC

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced a £65 million support package to help low-income earners in rent arrears.

Following the announcement in December 2020 that the government would provide funding of £310 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant for councils in England to help tackle homelessness in 2021/2022, the DLUHC has said that a further £65 million is being allocated to English local authorities to support vulnerable renters through the winter months in recognition of the impact the pandemic has had on households in the private rented sector with the lowest incomes.

Advising that households at risk of eviction or homelessness should contact their local council if they require support, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes MP said -

'We have taken action throughout the pandemic to support the most vulnerable families, and it is vital we continue to provide support as we enter the winter months.

This new funding will support families that are struggling and help to get them back on their feet as we begin to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.'

NB - in its guidance on the Homelessness Prevention Grant: 2021 to 2022, the DLUHC sets out the allocations for the exceptional winter top-up and, in an accompanying technical note, advises that - 

'To allocate the £65 million top-up, we have replicated the two-stage process set out in the ‘Allocation of Homelessness Prevention Grant 2021-22: technical note’ to calculate the relative share allocated to each individual authority, and rescaled the funding allocated to individual local authorities based on the quantum of the £65 million top-up.'

For more information, see £65 million support package for vulnerable renters from gov.uk