Homelessness is on the rise in England, latest statistics show.
Between April and June 2023, 47,530 single households were on a prevention or relief duty (which requires the Local Housing Authority – in our area this is Reading Borough Council – to take reasonable steps to help secure accommodation for any eligible person who is homeless).
This figure has risen by 3.9% from the same period in 2022.
Between April and June 2023 in England, 34,850 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness, and therefore owed a prevention duty, which is up 1.5% from the same quarter last year.
This includes 6,640 households threatened with homelessness due to service of a Section 21 notice to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy – an increase of 10.3% from the same quarter last year.
Government statistics shows tenants being issued with a Section 21 no fault eviction notice was the most common reason for being asked to move out.
The long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, which would see a ban on no fault evictions in England, is now at committee stage going through Parliament (you can check out its progress here https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3462).
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday February 11, Michael Gove, the housing secretary, guaranteed a ban on no fault evictions would be in place before the election.
He said: “There are a small minority of unscrupulous landlords who use the threat of eviction, either to jack up rents or to silence people who are complaining about the quality of their homes. It’s important that we deal with that abuse.”
Michael Gove pledged that by the election “we will have outlawed it and we will have put the money into the courts in order to ensure that they enforce that.”
Cost of living relief
Along with the Renters Reform Bill, there is another glimmer of good news. Low-income households and those on means-tested benefits will receive a final £299 cost-of-living payment this month (February 2024) from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The payments will be sent out automatically – meaning those eligible do not need to apply. This payment is tax-free and will not have any impact on the benefit cap.
For some this help is still not enough to cover the high costs of utility bills. A new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows more than 14 million people in the UK fit the poverty definition.
Please continue supporting Launchpad. Our services remain sought after by so many and we want to help everyone in the Reading area who needs us.
Statutory homelessness in England: April to June 2023 infographic – GOV.UK
Inside Housing – News – Highest number of rough sleepers in London ever recorded