Shelter claims that the Autumn Statement’s failure in freezing the Housing Benefit hidden away in the small print ,will put many PRS tenants in danger of falling into rental arrears and could reach the same level two years ago.

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Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, says: “There’s a housing hole in this budget - housing benefit remains frozen at 2020 levels when private rents have been rising at record rates.

“Increasing Universal Credit will really help people struggling to pay their food and fuel bills, but crucially it doesn’t cover rents which are most people’s biggest outgoing. Unless housing benefit is increased, the shortfall with real rents will only grow - swallowing up other benefit increases. The boost to benefits will be built on quicksand. 

“The glimmer of hope for those at the sharp end of the housing emergency is the planned increase to the benefit cap. Raising the cap will put more money in the pockets of the hardest hit families. The government’s refusal to unfreeze housing benefit ignores the rental crisis that is unfolding, and means that homelessness will continue to rise this winter.”

And of course Generation Rent was not to be outdone when comparing Jeremy Hunt’s 7 per cent rent cap rise for social housing tenants unlike the private rented sector, which angered the leader of the campaign ‘charity.

Baroness Alicia Kennedy, says: “As the Chancellor announced plans to cap rents in the social housing sector, and extended access to mortgage support, he left private renters vulnerable to unaffordable rent increases. Market rents have risen by 12 per cent in the past year and it is very easy for landlords to raise the rent on their current tenants when they can threaten a no-fault eviction.

“Freezing rents, suspending no-fault evictions and relinking Local Housing Allowance to actual rents would ultimately benefit the public finances by preventing homelessness, and keeping people near their jobs. Instead, private renters face a winter of hardship, particularly the one in four who are in fuel poverty.

“The additional £6 billion fund for energy efficiency is welcome as long as it is effective in insulating private rented homes and ensures the benefits flow to tenants who face fuel poverty rather than their landlords.”

Crisis charity’s chief exec Matt Downie was critical of the Chancellor and said: “What this statement doesn’t do … is alleviate the mounting strain on 1.9m private renters who rely on housing benefit to cover their rent. With housing benefit remaining frozen, stuck at levels set in 2018-19, and rents rising at their fastest rate in 16 years, this cut will leave more and more people unable to afford a secure home.