Charity slams government over gap between rents and benefits

Crisis, the homelessness charity, has slammed the government over the growing gap between housing benefit levels and even the lower end of the average private rent.

New figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that the number of households stuck in temporary accommodation in England was at a record high between January and March this year.

Some 104,510 households were found to be living in temporary accommodation – up 10 per cent from last year. This includes 64,940 households with children – a 10.3 per cent increase from the same period last year. In total, 131,370 dependent children were living in temporary accommodation. 

The total number of households approaching their local council for help to either prevent them from becoming homeless, or to help them out of homelessness, also increased by 5.7 per cent to 83,240 households. Again, these figures hit a record high.

Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, says: “Once again, we see the crippling cost that years of no investment in housing benefit, and a shameful lack of social house building, is having by trapping families in temporary accommodation. Not only do people not have the stability and security of a home, but they’re often left to cope in just one room, with no facilities to cook meals or do washing.

“This is unacceptable. The Westminster government may have declared victory on a pledge to build one million homes in this parliament, but these figures highlight how out of touch they are. Until the Westminster government grasps the severity of this situation, we will not see change. 

“Families experiencing homelessness will continue to be commonplace and more and more children will be forced to live in cramped, unsafe temporary accommodation. Households across the country desperately need more social homes as well as investment in housing benefit so that people can afford even the cheapest of rents.”

The figures also show that 37,890 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness, and therefore qualified for support from their local authority, which is down 0.7 per cent from the same quarter last year. 

The end of private rented Assured Shorthold Tenancies was the most common reason for households being at risk of homelessness, accounting for 14,530 or 38.3 per cent of households: this is an increase of 2.5 per cent from the same quarter last year.

The most common reason households were at risk of homelessness at the end of a private tenancy were because their landlord wished to sell or re-let the property - this was the case for 9,180 households.