Rental Boom, Housing Crisis
PAUL McLAUGHLIN
Hastings has experienced a substantial rental boom in the last few years due to its growing popularity. But a shortage of private rental properties coupled with a sharp rise in demand has led to steep increases in rents. For those on benefits this is a disaster as the LHA – Local Housing Allowance – or the amount the government pays in housing benefit – has failed to keep up.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show rents across Hastings rose by more than 5% over the last year, with an average monthly amount of £963 in December 2024 – a £47 rise over the previous 12 months.
According to the council it is now ‘almost impossible’ to secure a private rental sector tenancy at LHA levels.
Their figures show that, although the LHA did get an uplift in April 2024, only three out of 334 one-bedroom properties advertised on Zoopla in Hastings came within the LHA rate that year. The figures are similarly stark for two- and three-bed properties.
The gap between what landlords charge and what tenants on benefits can pay results in high levels of evictions. There were 323 possession claims in 2023, nearly three times as many as two years previously.
The problem for the council is that when a tenant is evicted and they can’t afford anywhere else to live, they become homeless – and the council then has a statutory duty to find them accommodation if they are in ‘priority need’ and not intentionally homeless.
Two other factors increase the problem. The town’s growing popularity means there is more competition for private rental properties – which simply forces rents up. Secondly the rental market in Hastings is affected by its popularity as a destination for weekend and holiday visitors. Websites like Airbnb have made it much easier for landlords to manage and advertise their properties and there is a vibrant short-term rental market where they can make big returns on holiday lets. There were 615 listings on Airbnb in September 2024, with a median occupancy rate of 60% and an average daily rate of £96. This translates to an average annual gross revenue of £21,035 for hosts and means that ever more properties are unavailable for long-term rental.
This has inevitably led to increased homelessness and a spike in the numbers needing temporary accommodation. There were 568 households living in temporary accommodation (TA) across Hastings as of last September, with some 1,500 households on the waiting list for affordable settled housing. Hastings Borough Council has to pay for anyone in private rental accommodation – by far the majority – and the budget for TA now takes up 40% of all Hastings Borough Council spending.
The new Labour Government has started to tackle some of the underlying causes of the crisis. The need to strengthen tenant protections is being addressed by the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is progressing through Parliament. This will ban no-fault evictions by abolishing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which currently allows landlords to evict tenants without reason.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has also pledged to invest up to £5bn on housing in 2025-26, plus she has announced an increase in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate, ending the previous Government’s four-year freeze. Whilst the increase in the benefit will be welcomed by tenants, the Chancellor indicated that she plans no further adjustments going forward.
The Government also plans to reduce Right to Buy discounts and to allow local authorities to retain and reinvest the earnings from council housing sales.
A key plank of the Government’s housing strategy is to build 1.5 million new homes within the next five years. This includes increasing the supply of affordable housing. There is already a lively debate between the Green-led Hastings BC and the local Labour MP as to whether the Government’s ambitious housing targets are achievable.
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