Homelessness up 17% as official figures call into question private sector move

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

Government figures today reveal there has been a 17% rise in the number of homeless households owed council accommodation, compared to the same quarter last year, with the figure now standing at 11,820.

Overall, councils made 25,980 decisions on applications for housing assistance between April and June 2011 - up from 14% compared to the same time last year.

According to Communities and Local Government (CLG) there has been a sharp rise in the number of households made homeless because their tenancy ended in the private sector. It has risen to 2,130 up from 1,460 compared to the same quarter last year. It now stands at nearly 20% of all acceptances.

The figures call into question plans in the Localism Bill - currently going through the House of Lords - to allow councils to discharge their main homelessness duty and place those in housing need within the private rented sector.

Households made homeless because of repossession rose to 340 households, up from 230 compared to the same period last year.

Housing minister Grant Shapps today urged that any household threatened with homelessness must seek help and advice as early as possible.

He said: "Whilst homelessness remains at a historic low, today's figures underline how the effects of the worst recession for a generation continue to deliver difficult times for households up and down the country.

"But anyone facing financial difficulty or the prospect of losing their own home is not alone. There is help available and everything will be done to help people avoid homelessness: I urge anyone who thinks they may be at risk of losing their home to take action immediately, and give themselves a greater chance of staying in it.

"Whilst this Government gets on with the rescue mission on our economy - dealing with the huge deficit we inherited to avoid the need for rapid increases in interest rates and keep further pressure off households, households themselves must seek early support from their council, lender or one of the charity bodies who offer support."

Homelessness charity Crisis warned that the situation is set to get worse.

Research it has commissioned indicated that after years of stable or falling levels of homelessness, 2010 marked the turning point when homelessness in all its forms started to rise again.

The research predicts that the worst is yet to come as the continuing economic downturn combined with the Coalition Government’s radical reforms and weakening of the welfare state will leave many more people facing the threat or reality of homelessness.

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “Today’s official figures prove once again we now face a sustained increase in homelessness but, worryingly, this research predicts the worst is yet to come.

“The Coalition Government is dismantling the buffers against poverty and unemployment that have traditionally kept a roof over vulnerable households’ heads. Homelessness is rising and we fear cuts to housing benefit and housing budgets, alongside reforms in the Welfare Reform and Localism Bills will cause it to increase yet further. We need the Government to change course now or risk returning us to the days of countless lives facing the debilitating effects of homelessness.”

Campbell Robb, chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, said: "This dramatic rise in homelessness indicates that the impact of unemployment, increasing living costs and stagnant wages is taking its toll, as more and more people struggle to hang on to their homes.

"From the people coming to Shelter for help, we see that it can take just one event like a job loss or relationship breakdown to push households into a spiral that ends, ultimately, in homelessness."

He added: "With the approach of winter signalling higher utility bills, and fuel and food prices rising fast, the squeeze on household budgets looks set to tighten, pushing those already struggling even closer to homelessness."

Jenny Edwards, chief executive of Homeless Link, said: "The number of homeless people going to councils for help continues to rise. This news underlines the need for urgent action to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing in our cities and our countryside.

"The Government's proposal to reform local planning policy is an important milestone towards meeting this need for more homes. This is not just about buildings, it is about stopping the damage that homelessness causes to individual lives and communities," she said.