Activist group Generation Rent has accused private landlords of “rigging the system to line their own pockets” with council cash.
The group claims councils are spending tens of millions of pounds a year in one-off incentive payments to private landlords.
These are payments apparently to incentivise landlords to provide homes for households who have approached the local authority as homeless or threatened with homelessness.
The activists give examples – and they are all Labour councils:
- Manchester City Council – £3,345,411.95
- Enfield Council – £2,730,337.42
- Ealing Council – £2,259,913.77
- Birmingham Council – £1,657,605
- Nottingham Council – £1,595,276
The top five highest single incentives paid to private landlords were:
- Southwark Council – £15,385.44
- Camden Council – £13,500
- Hammersmith and Fulham Council – £13,000
- Ealing Council – £11,367.42
- Brent Council – £10,700
In London, the 27 councils that responded spent over £24 million on landlord incentives in 24/25. This is an average spend of over £900k per council.
Responding to the findings, Ben Twomey – chief executive at Generation Rent – says: “The rental market is like the wild west. Landlords are often a law unto themselves, rigging the system to line their own pockets at the expense of people experiencing homelessness and the local councils that are trying to house them.
“The soaring cost of renting and the government’s decision to freeze the Local Housing Allowance has put councils across the country in a near impossible position.
“In a desperate bid to avoid placing people in temporary accommodation, they’re forced to pay individual landlords sometimes tens of thousands of pounds just for them to agree to rent out their home. It’s a senseless waste of our public money.
“The government’s housebuilding targets are welcome, but these findings show urgent action is needed to address the widening lack of affordable homes. The Chancellor must unfreeze Local Housing Allowance in the upcoming Autumn Budget to give renters claiming benefits relief from towering household costs.
“Meanwhile, the government also must give Metro Mayors the power to limit rent increases through the upcoming Devolution Bill, allowing them to slam the brakes on sky-high rents in cities across England.”
