More than 70% of those impacted by the benefit cap are single parents, and more than one in three are single parents with a child under five.
Researchers analysed whether a typical family impacted by the benefit cap – a single parent with three children – could find somewhere affordable to rent in their area by analysing 1.6 million rental properties on Zoopla in 2022.
Outside of London, families would need to find a property rented for less than £577 per month to be unaffected by the cap.
In June 2022 there were 28,400 single parents with three children impacted by the benefit cap but only 4,368 affordable three-bedroom properties on Zoopla in the whole of Britain.
Dr Mark Fransham, one of the authors of the study, said: “We were shocked to discover just how little affordable private rental accommodation there is.
“There has been lots of discussion about removing the two-child limit in recent weeks and while that is important it would not help these families – the benefit cap policy needs addressing if we are to deal with the spectre of destitution in the UK.”
Even if families on the benefit cap moved to the cheapest available properties, nearly half (44%) would still be capped to the point where their living standards fall below destitution level.
Families in much of London and parts of the South East of England would find themselves living on less than £4 per person per day. In some parts of London, they would have less than £3 per person each day.
Over the course of four years, the researchers interviewed families who spoke of living in overcrowded properties with poor living conditions, experiencing damp, mould, rats and mice.
One mother, Bushra, said: “It has the damp… the kitchen is broken… So again we have mouse…and the house doors even, we don’t have doors in our room.”
Families were relying on food banks, falling behind on bills and into debt, and borrowing money. Most said that moving to a cheaper property was not an option because they were living in the cheapest accommodation they could find, and there were long waiting lists for social housing.
Alex Beer, head of portfolio development at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “This important research should be high on the reading list for the government’s new taskforce on child poverty.
“It highlights the disconnect between one of the policy expectations of the benefit cap – in which families move to cheaper properties to improve their financial position – and the harsh reality of an acute shortage of affordable homes for rent.
“Many families with their benefits capped already live in poor quality housing, and opportunities to move somewhere cheaper are almost impossible.”
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