parents lost more than £3,000 annually since 2015. Polly Neate of Shelter said, "The money put forward [by the government for social housing] is only a fraction of what’s needed, given just how bad this crisis has become. Building new homes also takes time, and time is not on the side of the million private renters who could risk being tipped into homelessness by the freeze on housing benefit. Whether a struggling family or a young person in low-paid work, the freeze is stripping away the help people desperately need to pay their rent. (...) We are urging the government to abandon the freeze on housing benefit in the autumn budget or risk making more people homeless". Benefit freeze The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) stated that in 2018 one in six pensioners is in poverty due to falling home ownership, rising rents and the benefits freeze. It is feared many pensioners will have to choose to pay for heating or buy food this winter not having enough money to get both. This is because benefits are frozen below inflation for the third consecutive year. Pensioner poverty had halved during 20 years, but started to rise in 2012–13. In 2016–17, 16% of pensioners were in poverty, reaching 31% for those in social housing and 36% for private renters. Campbell Robb of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said, "For middle-aged people who have been struggling over the past few years, who don’t have many savings and don’t own their own home, the prospect of being a pensioner is very challenging". Roughly 20% of pensioners rent their home, and the proportion is rising. The benefits freeze since 2016 increases to the problem. Robb added, "As rent goes up faster than housing benefit, pensioners have a huge gap to fill. This tips people into poverty, and forces them to choose between food and heating". The JRF urged the government to end the benefits freeze and build really affordable housing. Robb further stated "These figures are part of a wider increase in poverty across all age-groups. If we don’t tackle the causes now, we fear that we are going to see poverty – particularly among pensioners – rise even more". Due to the freeze housing benefit no longer covers rent and low income people risk being forced into poverty and homelessness. Matt Downie of Crisis stated,: 'This (Chartered Institute of Housing) report highlights just how much