Shelter: Single parents face eviction threat as housing crisis worsens

"The only real, lasting solution is to invest in truly affordable social homes with rents tied to local incomes"

That's a bit narrow minded.

How about helping these people get a job, or advising them on managing their money.
Or perhaps campaigning to help landlords deliver solutions and encourage investments.
The answer to every problem shouldn't be more socialism and landlord bashing.

'... they face blanket bans on children and people on benefits in rented housing.'

I thought it was illegal to have such blanket bans.

Polly hits the nail on the head

“Decades of failure to build genuinely affordable social homes has meant that competition for rentals is fierce and the barriers to finding and keeping hold of a safe home are higher than ever.”

She added: “The only real, lasting solution is to invest in truly affordable social homes with rents tied to local incomes.

Although, I'm confused by her statement:
“Until the government gets on and commits to that more people will be forced to turn to our services.”

Opening their website to banner message is
"We work across a number of areas developing policy to ensure there is a safe, secure, and affordable home for everyone. We also deliver key statistics, respond to consultations, write blogs, and produce policy and research reports"

You have to click through to find out that they offer tenant support services.

While it is not (or should not) be the responsibility of the PRS to support the vulnerable by providing affordable housing, a lack of planning and funding has made local authorities increasingly dependent on the PRS to cover their lack of supply.

In recognition of this, the government has decided that our reward is a penal tax regime, and local authorities have pushed rents up by implementing blanket licencing schemes.

iHowz are engaged with government to ensure that proposed RRB measures, such as abolition of S21 and ending fixed term tenancies do not produce unintended consequences, exasperating the current housing crisis.

Details of the iHowz campaign can be seen here
https://ihowz.uk/campaigns/

Labour stopped housing benefit being paid to landlord. That needs to be reinstated and option for tenant to take over. Local councils to act as guarantor on every dhs tenancy. Hrlp from social services with tenants who develop serious mental health problems. We are not social workers but most of us have to step in at some time. Currently crisis line will only help if the tenant phones them and asks for help - as if that is going to happen!
If a tenant defaults with non osymrnt if two months rent , it will probably take 3- 4 months to have tenant evicted and possibly 6 months with the 60 day waiting period which equates to 8 months rent down the drain.Not going to go there again are we?. landlords are treated like muppets by local authorities.

There is a lot of discussion at this time of year about a certain virgin birth. I believe that this is a miraculously rare event so why exactly should we be financially responsible when the fathers just disappear?

It is of course easier to blame us rather than absentee parents.

Reply to the comment left by Paul Essex at 03/01/2024 - 19:51
I agree, shouldn't Shelter be campaigning for the absent fathers to stump up money. It is not the landlords job to be a social worker. Having had a number of single parent families in my properties over the past 20 years, I would advise any landlord to find a 'legal' excuse NOT to accept any LHA tenants. In my experience the absent fathers often end up co-habiting with the single monthers, leaving the landlord in danger of the tenants payments being stopped.

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 04/01/2024 - 07:10When I was working with the DWP on a new fraud investigation system, one of the biggest frauds was single mothers claiming benefit, while the supposed absentee father was living there.

6 years on, and nothing has changed.

Ridiculous article tbh. A single tenant has more chance of being evicted due to inability to cover bills due to the fact that a couple have more earning power. Being a single parent is irrelevant, and I was/am a single parent . I look forward to seeing "minimum wage earners more likely to get evicted than 6 figure earners" 🙄

Reply to the comment left by Judith Llewellyn at 03/01/2024 - 11:35I used to get paid directly by social services until learned the hard way a tenant got caught fiddling benefits and they took all he owed them out of my bank account and its all legal . What a joke l get penalised for housing a benifit cheat.

See my local council are imposing further licencing to areas in my town £500+ per property well polly l think you will find more people homeless with this policy already let all tenants that their rent will increase accordingly sorry if they can't or won't pay eviction looms unlike shelter l am not a charity.