Number of homeless people in temporary accommodation rises by 8 per cent

Government figures out today show there were 77,240 households in temporary accommodation on 31 March this year, an increase of 8% compared to the same time last year. The total number of households in temporary accommodation has now risen by 51% since 2010.

Meanwhile, 59,090 households were accepted as homeless across England in 2016/17- a rise of 2% compared to the previous year. The ending of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy is still the leading cause of homelessness, accounting for 32% of acceptances.

Responding, Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:

“More and more homeless people are finding themselves stuck in temporary accommodation with no way of planning for the future. Not only is this distressing for those involved, it’s also incredibly expensive for the taxpayer, when for a fraction of this cost we could be preventing people from losing their home in the first place.

“Welfare reforms and a desperate shortage of affordable rented homes are making it harder for councils to house homeless people. Our research shows that nearly two thirds of English councils are struggling to find social tenancies for homeless people, while half are finding it 'very difficult' to help homeless people into private renting.

“We desperately need more truly affordable homes for rent, as well as housing benefit that genuinely covers the cost of renting. At the same time, we’re calling on the Government to invest in schemes that support people into private renting, including creating and underwriting a national rent deposit guarantee. The Government already pours billions into ‘Help to Buy’. What we really need is ‘Help to Rent’."

ENDS

For further information or for spokesperson interviews call 020 7426 3853 or email thomas.phillips@crisis.org.uk. For out-of-hours media enquiries please call: 07973 372587