0:03 AM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago 55
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Councils across England are struggling with a surge in demand from households facing homelessness with nearly a quarter of a million households looking for a home, one organisation reveals.
The findings from Crisis are part of its annual ‘state of the nation’ survey and it found that the equivalent of 1 in 100 households are grappling with homelessness.
The trend is pushing thousands into temporary living arrangements like B&Bs and hostels, as local authorities struggle to secure long-term housing solutions.
The research was carried out by Heriot-Watt University which found that the factors driving homelessness levels up include rising living costs and rents.
Matt Downie, the chief executive at Crisis, said “The homelessness system is at breaking point. Temporary accommodation should be a short-term emergency measure yet, as the report shows, it is increasingly becoming the default solution for many councils.
“This is leaving thousands of people living out their lives in a permanent state of limbo, enduring cramped, unsuitable conditions – with a fifth of households in temporary accommodation stuck there for over five years.”
He added: “It comes as no surprise that councils are reporting that they are running out of temporary accommodation.”
The survey found that 85% of councils in England are witnessing a surge in homelessness cases, marking the highest proportion since the survey began.
The combination of a housing benefit freeze, a dwindling supply of social housing and a scarcity of affordable private accommodation is creating a challenge for local authorities.
Research shows that 88% of councils are dealing with more requests for help from tenants being evicted from the private rented sector (PRS).
And 93% of councils are predicting further increases in the coming year.
Mr Downie said: “For too long the emphasis has been on managing homelessness, not building the social homes we need to provide security to low-income households.
“The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear.
“The Westminster government must address the chronic lack of social housing and increase housing benefit, so it covers the true cost of rents.
“We cannot allow this situation to escalate further and consign more lives to the misery of homelessness.”
The report also reveals that rising rents in the PRS and growing competition for a dwindling supply of homes to rent is leading 97% of councils struggling to source suitable private rentals over the past year.
As access to social housing also dwindles, councils are increasingly turning to the PRS to house low-income households, but the challenges are becoming insurmountable.
And as councils exhaust their options for sustainable long-term housing solutions, they are resorting to temporary accommodations at an unprecedented rate.
Crisis says that the number of households living in such arrangements has reached a record high.
However, it appears that this approach is nearing a breaking point, with councils expressing concerns about their diminishing capacity to secure more temporary accommodation.
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Small Portfolio Landlord
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Sign Up12:52 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Fed Up Landlord at 25/08/2023 - 11:51
Precisely. It would be calamitous should successful landlords be able to start rubbing shoulders with the establishment. They must be stopped at all costs.
john thompson
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Sign Up13:16 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
Surprise, surprise!
We all saw this coming a mile off. Shelter and the most useless incompetent government to ever set foot in parliament have been pushing landlords too far for years because they can get away with it, as we do nothing absolutely to fight back!
Unfairly over-taxed to bu##ery unlike any other sector, smeared, undervalued, unappreciated, and overregulate. Virtually no money in it anymore just a huge list of hassle, headaches, taxes, and bills.
And on the horizon, we have every eviction of non-paying tenants will be court costs for us landlords while the government pays the tenant's costs via our taxes...utterly brilliant!!
Who in their right mind would want to risk becoming a landlord anymore?
So Rishi Sunak, I guess you got your way now, It's time to reap the rewards...Mass homelessness of your citizens, tens of thousands of others in mortgage arrears facing repossession in the months to come as you hand over what is left of the social housing to all the immigrants you keep letting in and importing every day.
Well done! another brilliant result! you really are utterly moronic Sunak. A 5-year-old could do a better job of running the country.!
Mick Roberts
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Sign Up14:26 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 25/08/2023 - 11:16
Ha ha yes, well said Ian.
It's what tenants want to hear, but we know it ends up hurting them more.
Mick Roberts
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Sign Up14:27 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
They called for this.
Licensing, UC, Section 24, EPC etc.
Why don't they come give us more charges & regulation, that should work shouldn't it?
Will that bring rents down & increase supply? Cause that's what they've been thinking last 8+ years.
I feel like the King when I've just been in one of my 2 beds this morning in Bulwell, really good gal, her family been with me 8 years. Her sister in law lived in her house before her paying £622. We had swaparound last year giving her sister house for £850, she then had this 2 bed for £725. All 2 bed rents in Bulwell are now £825. I'm making way more than I should be at £725. She's really grateful cause all her mates can't even get a 2 bed for £825.
All Govt & Council's making.
Mick Roberts
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Sign Up14:29 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 25/08/2023 - 12:20
Yes JB if it was easier to evict, they would have more houses to choose from. They make it harder to evict, then they get no houses at all.
Here's my lot pre 2015 when Landlords could evict easier & tenants could do a bunk on us just like that & choose from 20 houses they wanted.
https://youtu.be/i_HKaqYlHi4 Tenants from Hell Bulwell.
https://youtu.be/OzqVVRlZzE8 Tenants from Hell Bestwood Park
https://youtu.be/QcENHbgfMR4 Tenants from Hell Top Valley Nov 2010
https://youtu.be/_UvO8dmxGQQ Tenants from Hell May 12th 2010.
https://youtu.be/DzRIyfLHRn0 Tenants from Hell May 10th 2010.
The rest are on http://www.youtube.com/mickroberts2006
I han't done any for years.
JeggNegg
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Sign Up15:25 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
JH i agree with your comment re European countries as i understand, renting is the norm for most people for much or most of their lives.
UK needs to have a very DEEP DIVE into finding a solution to many of the points made by Bristol Landlord, and if finding homes for the growing homeless, where do we ALL start?
we are where we are, and positive solutions need to be found asap
we cannot wait years for 1 million new homes to be built, whilst the number of homeless increases.
maybe stop the various sides scoring points off each other. all sides know there is a problem.
nobody can afford to take unacceptable risks be they financial or stress etc....
living in tents is hopefully not a good starting point especially with the winter not far away.
i suggest we need a new way of financing conversion and new build maybe a percentage of pension funds should be allowed to invest in residential homes as they both need long term investment.
CRISIS, SHELTER etc does it matter if some people actually make some money for taking some financial risks/ as our objectives in this is to help homelessness in UK.
maybe some homeless potential tenants would like to offer some of their time and skills to 'queue jump' in helping this SOS for reducing Homeless ASAP
can some of the minimum size rooms be slightly reduced so more people can be safely housed?
what we as a nation have done in the past does not seem to be working and in my opinion it is getting much worse. so radical positive thinking is required and NOW. the 3 RELATED articles mentioned below :- GENERATION RENT, SHELTER, and NEWHAM LONDON what positive solution have they put forward to ease the homeless crisis? we must remember that the homeless are HUMAN BEINGS and many i believe would help but they need a leader to guide them to get started. a conversation or series of conversations to fully understand all the issues from all sides of this problem i suggest is a starting point. maybe remove housing issues from the political arena might be a start. Surely all organizations on different sides of the homeless problem will have positive comments to add to the going forwards solutions.
As a country we know we can achieve so much with the skills we have.
we just need to stop scoring points and get the job done. yes a few mistakes will occur along the journey, but as long as we learn from these mistakes does it matter?
AT
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Sign Up15:32 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
My proposal for the housing crisis is ;
1. Declare a property on hmrc as btl.
2. Get a certified long term fixed rate loan at "fixed low rate" designed for btl.
3. Offer the property at a sensible rent and still make some profit.
4. Gov, allows all interest to be offset against profit.
5. Gov allows s21, bad behaviour, non payment of rent. No cost for court.
6. Gov allows sale of property.
7. Remove 3% stamp duty.
Part of housing problem solved.
4 & 7 are utterly stupid amongst other stupid things by gov.
northern landlord
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Sign Up15:43 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
Article in my local paper just yesterday “Dozens of “no fault” evictions in Bury despite Government vow”. The article goes onto say “Due to the practice (referring to Sect 21) remaining legal, hundreds of families risk being thrown into homelessness” Typically the landlord side is not presented at all. The implication is that tenants get evited on a whim because there is “no fault”. The belief pedalled around that that banning section 21 will stop legal evictions and prevent homelessness is just idiotic. It will make it more difficult for landlords to get properties back but it won’t stop them evicting, all tenants will maybe get is a stay of execution, that’s all. Any landlord who was thinking of selling up at some point in the next 4-5 years is actually being incentivised to bring their plans forward with all that is potentially going to happen to the PRS. Our Local Council is just like a rabbit in the headlights sitting there waiting for the inevitable.
JB
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Sign Up16:29 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
How utterly stupid it was for the nanny state to introduce minimum room sizes. Its a matter of choice and has put people on the street
NewYorkie
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Sign Up16:35 PM, 25th August 2023, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 25/08/2023 - 12:44
Lots of empty public sector offices sitting empty due to WFH, could be converted to flats.