Commission highlights links between rent and poverty

An independent commission has claimed expensive rents in Brent have doubled the number of people living below the poverty line in the London borough.

The Brent’s Poverty Commission reveals that one in six households (17%) live below the poverty line in Brent, but that figure doubles to 33% after housing costs are taken into account.

It also found that more than one in five (22%) of children live in poverty in the London borough, doubling to a startling 43% after housing costs.

The commission found that the borough’s proximity to wealth and the skilled employment offered by central London has driven housing costs up without raising pay locally, creating an affordability gap which pushes people into poverty and is a key cause of homelessness.

It points to an acute shortage of social housing which has forced people into the private rented sector where rents are two or even three times higher.

To address this, the commission recommends Brent Council builds on its ambitious plans to generate more affordable homes, using its borrowing powers to build, working with housing associations and taking advantage of post-COVID opportunities to buy from developers and landlords who are exiting the market.

It also urges the council to launch an in-depth review into the private rented sector, and enforce decent standards, not least to reduce fuel poverty and health problems caused by poor conditions.

And to break cycles of debt that COVID-19 is likely to exacerbate, the commission encourages the council to take forward work recently started with credit unions to provide low-cost loans to cut down dependence on unscrupulous lenders.

‘Our report makes recommendations to ease poverty in Brent by raising incomes,’ said commission chair, Lord Richard Best.

‘It also shows that poverty is driven by high costs, specifically of private sector housing rents, that lead to more than two out of five children living in poverty. We call for urgent action to generate the social housing that can address this problem.’

Brent’s cabinet member for housing and welfare reform, Cllr Eleanor Southwood, added: ‘Because the causes of poverty are so complex, too often policy makers reach for sticking plasters. We wanted to understand how this web of problems, from wages to housing, debt and opportunity, come together to harm people’s quality of life in Brent.

‘I am extremely grateful to Lord Best for leading this commission. We will offer a full response in the coming weeks, but I’m optimistic that this marks a new chapter in how we address poverty in Brent.’

The full report – A Fairer Future – Ending Poverty in Brent – is available to read here.

Photo Credit – Free-Photos (Pixabay)