In Harlow a significant proportion of the rental stock is directly influenced by the Housing Benefit market. It remains to be seen whether the continuing changes will bring an end to the ever upward march of rentals in the area, but for now the evidence is against it.
One aspect of the most recent changes which seems to have been largely overlooked is the introduction of market rents to higher earning social housing tenants. To us it seems that this measure is likely to stimulate demand for better quality rental properties since the subsidy attraction of current housing will be removed, increasing mobility for this subsector.
