Policy Library
Policy, research and good practice work forms a major part of Shelter's efforts to address and find solutions for homelessness and housing issues.
Alert Briefing: Universal Credit and Housing Benefit
Shelter analysis shows that a third of private renters (1.8 million) now claim housing benefit, up 32% on pre-pandemic levels. To prevent a wave of homelessness in the cost of living crisis, the government urgently needs to unfreeze and restore housing benefit to reflect the real cost of renting.
Published: 24 May 2022
Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill: Second Reading
The introduction of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill represents an opportunity to change the rules around land and planning to ensure that the needs of communities are truly met by new development – including ensuring the delivery of much needed social housing. The current system of development results in the needs of communities often being forgotten or ignored when they should be front and centre of any plan to level up the country. We need a planning system and a land market that has delivering the infrastructure and social homes communities need at its heart.
Published: 23 May 2022
Protecting private renters in the Queen's Speech
Letter to the Prime Minister: Protecting private renters in the Queen's Speech
Published: 26 April 2022
Unlocking Social Housing - Report
We need many more social homes built to end the housing emergency. But our housing system has too many barriers that stop getting the most affordable tenure of housing built. In “Unlocking Social Housing”, we look at how we can remove the barriers baked into England's investment, land and planning systems and get a new generation of good quality and genuinely affordable social homes.
Published: 20 April 2022
Alert Briefing: Benefit Cap
Latest statistics show that in November 2021 123,000 households had their benefits capped. Shelter analysis shows that in many parts of London and the South East, a lone parent with 3 children would be capped and unable to afford basic food and bills.
Published: 5 April 2022
Briefing: Take action on unfit, unsafe and unaffordable housing in the Queen's Speech
Shelter is calling for the government to bring forward three crucial bills in this year's Queen's Speech, to build social housing, fix private renting and bolster regulation in the social rented sector.
Published: 18 March 2022
Draft letter: The government must take action on housing in this Queen's Speech
Letter to the Prime Minister: Protecting private renters in the Queen's Speech
Published: 17 March 2022
Briefing: Poor Quality Conditions and Disrepair in Private Rented Sector Housing
The last piece of comprehensive legislation to affect the Private Rented Sector (PRS) was introduced in 1988. Since then the PRS has changed beyond recognition. It has doubled in size and is now home to households of all ages, backgrounds and sizes. This exponential market growth, made possible by financial incentives for landlords and a lack of regulation, has resulted in 11 million people now living in a PRS which is characterised by insecurity, poor conditions and high prices. Acknowledging that legislation must be updated and conditions for renters must be improved, in 2019 the government rightly committed to introducing a Renters’ Reform Bill.
Published: 14 March 2022
Alert Briefing: Universal Credit and Housing Benefit
Shelter analysis of the latest government figures which show that 1.9 million private renters and 2.9 million social renters rely on housing benefit to pay the rent - but in 9 out of 10 areas support falls behind the real cost of renting.
Published: 14 March 2022
Briefing: Protecting social housing tenants at risk of violence
Shelter’s advice and legal teams support families at the sharp end of the housing emergency every day. One of the most heart-breaking problems we encounter is social tenants who need urgent rehousing because they are at risk of violence. Every year thousands of households become homeless or are threatened with homelessness because of the threat of violence, and our dwindling supply of social housing is accelerating the problem – making it harder to offer urgent moves to safely and permanently rehouse families fleeing violence.
Published: 31 January 2022