0:03 AM, 25th August 2023, About A year 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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Gromit
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Sign Up10:15 AM, 26th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by AT at 26/08/2023 - 09:06
My thoughts exactly.
They are following the "own nothing and....." agenda from their WEF masters.
You can only create the NWO by first destroying what was already there.
Jules St cier
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Sign Up10:30 AM, 26th August 2023, About A year ago
My local council in South Warwickshire set the LHA at £420 pcm! That was in 2010! And it's still the same today! It has not gone up! They also have an odd scheme where the council will pay a landlord LHA direct but it's paid 4 weeks in arrears, not upfront or with a deposit! Unsurprisingly no one can get accommodation because of this badly thought out scheme!
Ahsan Choudhury
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Sign Up14:26 PM, 26th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by Bristol Landlord at 25/08/2023 - 00:53
Absolutely 110% spot on! I was thinking the exact same as I was reading the report on this.
Ahsan Choudhury
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Sign Up14:33 PM, 26th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 25/08/2023 - 16:29
So many good usable rooms can’t be used, really sad as people struggle to find a room and you have rooms empty as it’s 0.2m below 6.51m.
Judith Wordsworth
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Sign Up19:54 PM, 26th August 2023, About A year ago
Sent this email to Michael Gove and the other Ministers in housing.
"For Serious Consideration: 3 solutions to the current Housing Crisis
1. There is huge scope for utilising an old post war idea to provide urgent, even if temporary or short term ie 10 -15 years until Local Authorities and/or Housing Associations can fully fund bricks and mortar homes.
Utilising land already land-banked by Local Authorities, brown field sites, land land-banked by developers if not subject to full or outline planning permission could be compulsory purchased and even some suitable greenfield ie sites close to towns and transport infrastructures, to site clusters of pre-fabs and/or static mobile homes.
These would house, and very cheaply, thousands of families, couples and single people; and importantly providing communities - sadly lacking in the 2020's, and breathing space to formulate workable, cost effective and realistic housing plans for the future.
In my area of Cheltenham there are still, and in perfect maintained condition, pre-fabs housing families; not to mention static mobile home parks for the 50+ age group. These have provided not only affordable homes but social community.
2. There are countless unused/vacant office blocks available since Covid. Hundreds, if not thousands of companies are no longer using their office space and their office workers are working from home 5 days a week or only utilising meeting rooms twice a month.
Converting these blocks of offices would provide affordable low-cost housing for thousands of single people and couples.
3. The Right to Buy your council home should be abolished forthwith/immediately. It has been a ludicrous situation whereby you can purchase your council home at a vast discount and then sell it 3 years later for a vast profit. Council homes were not built to be owned but for a purpose, to house a Local Authority's needy/homeless people and families. They certainly were not built to generate a financial profit for the tenant and/or their family.
Your comments would be appreciated"
Old Mrs Landlord
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Sign Up12:58 PM, 28th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 26/08/2023 - 19:54
Far too sensible to be considered by this government!
JeggNegg
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Sign Up13:29 PM, 28th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by Trapped Landlord at 25/08/2023 - 21:46
i think you are probably 100% correct, sadly. so as intelligent human beings what can we do to slow down this ever increasing problem, or is it so out of control or too big problem, that until it crashes everyone is too busy or hoping someone else will sort it?
JeggNegg
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Sign Up13:42 PM, 28th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by john thompson at 25/08/2023 - 21:56
yes i agree the UK is going down the Plug-Hole.
can it be slowed down?
many seem to be suggesting various Governments have been the root cause. which i dont deny. with a general election due in the near future, is it too late to suggest many things which are failing must be taken OUT of politics?
JeggNegg
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Sign Up14:00 PM, 28th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 26/08/2023 - 19:54
JW i love your post.
thank you
i hope you have stimulated the thinking of many Landlords who many have retired rom the PRS, or thinking about retiring from it, with so much knowledge, experience that might be lost . if they are no longer LL maybe they will have a little spare time to share their thoughts of negative and positive issues so who ever will pick up the baton to help homelessness has something to work from.
NewYorkie
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Sign Up14:05 PM, 28th August 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 26/08/2023 - 19:54
1 & 2, absolutely! But the RTB issue is complex.
Anyone who buys under RTB then owns their own home, and can do whatever they want in due course. Like any other 'homeowner', if they want to sell, they must find somewhere else to live. But, if they continue renting their social housing, ad infinitum, it is still a property which is unavailable to someone on the waiting list [or more likely an asylum seeker today!].
It's worth noting that many ALMOs were set up by local housing authorities to gain access to additional government funding under the Decent Homes Programme, but Labour removed much of the funding in 2009, leading to housing associations becoming more 'profit-focused', as we witnessed with Grenfell.
We just need more housing, and should start with social housing... for those who are entitled to live here.