Tackling Poverty in Leicester

A safe, secure home of a decent standard is a basic requirement for everyone in Leicester. People also need to be able to furnish and heat their home and pay for other utilities.

As housing costs are a large and relatively fixed proportion of most household outgoings for those on very low incomes this is a key area to explore in order to understand poverty in Leicester.

Affordability

Housing in Leicester is disproportionately expensive – a local housing charity has found that the gap between the local housing allowance and the cost of rent in Leicester is one of the biggest in the country. The cost of housing and its related costs has risen over recent years and in Leicester the impact has been felt hardest by the most vulnerable residents.

We need to help people to create homes where they want to live, thrive, belong and grow.

Furniture and household goods

The way people currently access free or low-cost furniture is complex, with support workers often having to complete multiple referral forms asking for similar items, and not knowing the outcome. Providing new tenants with a single form – a questionnaire which would help tenants understand what they might need, and what they could have access to – would simplify the system. The idea of having one route for this was thought to be especially useful – so individuals could be directed to a single point to access household goods.

Some people simply cannot afford to furnish their houses – and without these essentials, a house simply cannot become a home.

Community support

Residents often want to donate unwanted furniture and household items. We need to tell people how and where they can donate.

Getting a new home is bitty - going different places, hoping they’ve got that – then how do you get it home?

Lack of support for private tenants

While council tenants have access to the STAR service, private sector residents are not generally able to benefit from this. Mapping of support services, and access to them, would mean that these tenants could be signposted and supported.

A community garage to store and for people to pick things up.

Energy efficiency

There’s a need for incentives to drive energy efficiency in private sector rentals.

Other issues raised

People wanted the council to ask if there are additional support needs on the housing application form. There was discussion about a possible landlord register, with tighter controls on landlords due to them not wanting to take certain tenants and asking for unreasonable deposits. Also people are not aware of the council’s rent guarantee scheme for private landlords.

Everyone should have a home that is of an appropriate size for their household, well-maintained and furnished with security of tenure and as energy efficient as possible.  Everyone should be able to adequately heat their home over winter without having to sacrifice other necessities.

The council helps secure this by:

• investing in energy efficiency measures for the properties we own and manage
• administering schemes and incentives to encourage private landlords to provide high quality homes
• supporting projects that offer affordable new or refurbished household goods for people who need them e.g. Charity Link
• delivering the actions set out in the homelessness strategy 
• actively engaging with the homelessness charter and the network of partners
• running and promoting the bulky waste scheme whereby usable furniture and white goods are donated to those who need them
• providing officers to offer tenancy support to those experiencing the impact of poverty
• ensuring residents can access Warm Home discounts and Green Homes grants to improve the warmth and comfort of their homes
• targeting household support grant funding to assist families with low income to pay their utility bills
• commissioning advice services in the community that support residents to manage their bills and access emergency gas and electricity credit
• ensuring council staff know how to refer residents to appropriate housing support
• ensuring school have access to information that enable families to access support and guidance
• developing plans for new affordable social housing

In addition, the council intends to:

• review our lettings criteria to offer an enhanced package of support taking into account the needs of new tenants
• develop our existing Housing Craft apprentice offer to support the enhanced package of support
• pilot a project offering the carpeting of living rooms in new council tenancies, to those those on low incomes
• seed fund a voluntary sector project to refurbish white goods for low income households
• lobby government around grants/incentives for private landlords to reach the minimum energy efficiency standard

The data shows that when we map poverty after housing costs it is more severe. Housing costs have a bigger impact on child poverty rates in Latimer/Belgrave, City Centre, Rushey Fields and Charnwood. However, they have a lower impact on child poverty in Beaumont Leys, Braunstone, New Parks, Northfields, St Matthews and St Peters, the areas the IMD shows as most deprived. This is likely to be because of the proportion of household income required to pay private sector rental rates and the cost of utilities required to run the older, less energy-efficient homes found in these areas of the city.

Local housing allowance

Another issue that has had a huge impact on people’s ability to afford their homes is the level of private sector rents compared with the local housing allowance. In 2015 the average shortfall between the cheapest private sector rents and the allowance covered by housing benefit was £2.80 per month. However, by 2020 the average rent for these properties had increased by 17% while benefit rates had remained almost static. This meant that the average shortfall was over £83 per month or £1,000 per year.