The UK Labour Government has rejected calls from Wales to uplift the local housing allowance, an FOI has revealed.

In April 2025 the UK Labour Government froze the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) leaving the average renting household in Wales with an average shortfall of over £1,900 a year – thereby forcing households to cut back on essentials, incur debt, or fall behind on rent and risk eviction.

An FOI request by Plaid Cymru disclosed that the Labour Government in Wales and the Welsh Local Government Authority had called for the level of the LHA to be restored to the 50th percentile - calls which the UK Government rejected.

Responding to the FOI, Plaid Cymru’s housing spokesperson, Sian Gwenllian MS said it was further evidence that Labour’s so called ‘partnership in power’ had done ‘nothing but worsening living standards’ for the people of Wales.

She said it also reinforced the fact that the Labour Welsh Government had little to no influence on their bosses in London because they ‘won’t even listen to what the Welsh Government has to say’.

Recent statistics show that rents have risen faster in Wales than anywhere else in the UK with an average increase of almost 9% in the past year - with some areas seeing rent increases of more than 20%.

Plaid Cymru has long argued that households in Wales have been hardest hit by the freezing of the LHA.

Plaid Cymru housing spokesperson, Sian Gwenllian, said: “I’m glad to see that the Welsh Government have recognised the detrimental impact that the Labour UK Government have had for renters in Wales. The freezing of the LHA has left Welsh renters thousands of pounds worse off.

“As has happened with several different Welsh issues, from HS2 to the Crown Estate, Labour in Wales have shown that they have no sway with their UK Government counterparts, as the UK Government have simply ignored their calls.

“Rents are rising in parts of Wales at the fastest rates anywhere in the UK - and the Labour UK Government’s refusal to unfreeze the LHA means more and more people are being pushed into financial hardship.

“Far from delivering for the people of Wales, this supposed ‘partnership in power’ has done nothing but worsen living standards.”