The number of youth households receiving housing allowance has decreased by 44 percent over the past five years. For families with children, the decrease is 32 percent.
When incomes have increased, the income limits for the housing allowance have not kept up, says Alma Wennemo Lanninger.
As the housing allowance is not indexed, political decisions are required to adjust the limits. For young people, for example, the income ceiling has been unchanged since 1997.
The decrease in the number of housing allowances paid may also be due to households fearing they will fall into debt. The allowance is linked to how much income a household is expected to have in the coming year, which is not always easy to know.
At the turn of the year, a monthly calculation will be introduced instead, so hopefully fewer people will fall into debt because they received too much housing allowance.
