The national residential landlords association has called on Govt to unfreeze housing benefit rates which have been frozen since April 2021. The private sector landlord body has also referenced the "warning" from the office for budget responsibility that Govt spending on housing related benefits is set to rise by just 0.1% of GDP in the period up to 2025 - amounting to the smallest increase seen in any of the four recessions the country has experienced since the early 1980s.

The organisation argues that amongst the cost of living crisis with rising energy and food prices as well as the effect of the shortage of housing stock available for private rent driving up rental costs for tenants the benefit rates need to be unfrozen to provide both tenants and their landlords with the security that rents can be paid.

Ben Beadle, the NRLA's chief executive, said "Whilst the chancellor's one off pots of money to support households are welcome, these cannot be used to hide the deficiencies of the benefits system..." and called for an unfreezing of benefits "without delay.