News & stories Real stories Fred's story Fred is a trained musician and music producer and lived in Enfield for thirty years. He would love to return to Enfield, to the community he knows, and rebuild his life. But he is stuck in emergency temporary accommodation until the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is increased enough to afford basic rent. Fred is joining our call to the Government to increase the LHA immediately, not wait until April 2024. When one of Fred's parents became ill in Rwanda, he left Enfield to look after them and had to stay for a number of years. Whilst he was there, he was in a terrible car accident and fractured his leg so badly that he needed to return to hospital in the UK. Fred received some of the treatment he needed but was discharged early from the hospital with nowhere to go. “I was on crutches; I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I asked the council for help, but when I was turned down, I went to the most public, safest place I knew – the bus station at Edmonton Shopping Centre. I spent three long, sleepless nights there in pain and afraid. Eventually, someone from the bus company, who had spotted me on CCTV, put me in touch with StreetLink.” Fred has been living in one of our temporary accommodation services since July 2023. We’ve helped him get the hospital treatment he needs, and we’re working hard to help him move back to his hometown, but we’re held back by the Government's inadequate LHA rates. “I’d like to return to my hometown. I’m on crutches these days, so being somewhere I know well and feel comfortable in is important to me. I want to focus on getting my physical health back, start recording and producing jazz and world music again and just move on with my life.” The Local Housing Allowance determines the amount of your rent that can be covered by benefits. The current level has been frozen at 2019-20 levels, despite London’s skyrocketing rent costs. I’d like to return to my hometown. I’m on crutches these days, so being somewhere I know well and feel comfortable in is important to me. It is now a leading cause of homelessness in London, with research showing that only 2% of properties in London fall within the current cap. Fred is just one of many Londoners trapped in this situation, and he is joining us in calling on the Government to increase the LHA now, not wait until April 2024. Find out more about the LHA cap here and how it unfair punishes Londoners here.