Econometric analysis of the impacts of Local Housing Allowance reforms on existing claimants

This document describes an evaluation of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) reforms and their impact on claimants in the private rented sector in Great Britain. The purpose of the reforms was to reduce housing benefit entitlements and influence the housing choices of claimants. The evaluation, conducted by a research consortium and reported by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, utilized administrative data and econometric techniques to assess the effects up to 11 months after the transition to the reformed system. The findings revealed that claimants' maximum entitlements decreased by an average of £6.84 per week, prompting them to move to less expensive or shared housing, and negotiate lower rents, with the burden of reductions falling predominantly on tenants. The evaluation also noted variations in the impact across different groups and acknowledged limitations such as potential data inaccuracies and the short-term nature of the analysis. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Department for Work and Pensions
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Quasi-experimental method
• Quasi-experimental methods: Difference-in-difference
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: July 2014

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING): No final report link found.
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes