Renters need more support

As the coronavirus crisis continues, more and more people are applying for benefits to help them afford their rent. But at the moment, people are being left hundreds of pounds short because housing benefit isn’t enough to cover average rent costs.

Already over 100,000 of us have signed the petition telling the Government to increase housing benefits to cover at least the average cost of rents. If thousands more of us pile on the pressure, while this issue is in the spotlight, it could be enough to push them to take action.

Will you sign the petition right now, and tell the government to increase housing benefits and make sure that no one falls through the cracks?

The housing benefit system has been broken for years. It only pays enough to cover the cheapest 30% of rent prices, which means that anyone who can’t find a flat cheap enough is left short, often by hundreds of pounds. Increasing the housing benefit to at least cover the average cost of rent would make a huge difference to people who can’t afford their rent.

38 Degrees members have come together like never before to make sure everyone has the support they need to get through this crisis. And from forcing Wilko to keep proper sick pay for their staff, to pushing the Scottish government to ban evictions for the next six months, we’ve already had some huge victories. Now, we need to come together again, and make sure that people relying on housing benefits aren’t left short.

Will you sign the petition now, and make sure everyone can pay their rent during this crisis?