No mention of PRS attacks

Shelter have issued a press release responding to MHCLG’s latest statutory homelessness statistics. The figures, as reported by Shelter,  indicate that a household became homeless every 4 minutes in England in the last year (April 2018 to March 2019) and that young people aged 16 to 24 are disproportionately affected by this country’s housing emergency.

However, Shelter point out private rental is the most common type of accommodation to live in at the time of applying for homelessness support. This is not backed up with any reasons why they believe this to be the case or any context added on the financial and regulatory PRS attacks supported by Shelter and the government designed specifically to reduce private rental supply.

Polly Neate, chief executive at Shelter, said: “During a year where Brexit negotiations have totally dominated the political agenda, catastrophic numbers of people have become homeless. While the housing crisis is out of the spotlight, families with young children are trapped in grim temporary accommodation like B&Bs and shipping containers, and young people feel the damaging effects of growing up in a housing emergency.

“Cripplingly expensive private rents, frozen housing benefits, and lengthy waiting lists for social homes are pushing people to the sharp edge of a housing emergency which won’t go away without genuinely affordable homes.

“The government must invest in a new generation of social homes – 3 million more in 20 years – if they are to pull hundreds of thousands of people out of homelessness. And in the meantime, they must urgently increase housing benefit so that it covers at least the bottom third of private rents.”

The government has released new figures on homelessness in England today. The latest figures show:

• A household became homeless every 4 minutes in England in the last year (April 2018 to March 2019)
• A new generation of young people and families are being hit by our housing emergency. 56,440 young people aged 16 to 24 became homeless or threatened with homelessness in the last year.
• Young people are disproportionately affected by homelessness – they represent a fifth (21%) of all applicants found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness in the last year, but make up just 14% of the general population
• 22% of households found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness lost their last settled home due to the ending of a private rented tenancy.
• 28% of households found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness were living in a private rented home – this is the most common type of accommodation to live in at the time of applying for homelessness support.
• More than a quarter (27%) of applicants owed a homelessness duty are in work

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