Successful efforts to tackle rough sleeping during the
Covid-19 pandemic risk being squandered if the Government fails
to implement and fund a comprehensive exit strategy, a report by
the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has
found. The report calls for the Government to dedicate at least
£100m per year in long term housing support or risk thousands of
people currently in temporary accommodation returning to the
streets. The Committee further warns of a looming homelessness
crisis as private sector renters currently unable to pay rent,
face building up debt or losing their homes when the current ban
on evictions expires.
Tackling rough sleeping
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, 90% of rough sleepers
have been taken off the streets and housed in temporary
accommodation. This has provided the Government with a unique
opportunity to eradicate rough sleeping in England once and for
all. The Committee calls on the Government to work quickly to
develop a housing based exit strategy and identify the level of
funding required to support it. This should be a dedicated
funding stream that enable local authorities to ensure people are
accommodated safely and securely, but must also provide for the
additional support services to tackle the range of issues rough
sleepers may face. The Housing First pilots provide an ideal
model for such support and the rollout across the country should
be accelerated.
The Government will need to consider how to ensure an
adequate supply of immediately available supported housing. To
this end they should work with the Local Government Association
and National Housing Federation to develop targeted grant
funding for councils and housing associations to acquire
properties, including those close to completion that may no
longer be in demand. The Government should remove restrictions on
Right to Buy receipts so councils can use 100% of sales to fund
these acquisitions and better replace lost housing stock.
Supporting private renters
There is a looming crisis in the private rental sector with
thousands of tenants unable to pay their rent having lost their
jobs or seen a significant loss of income. The Government has
banned evictions for a three month period, which has ensured
people have a home to live in but may result in amassing
significant rent arrears. Housing charity Shelter calculated that
up to 2.6 million private renters may have missed or expected to
miss a rent payment in April. Without action from the Government,
the possibility remains that there will be a cliff edge of
evictions once the temporary ban lapses.
The Committee calls on the Government to consider amending
existing legislation to provide greater security to tenants
during the ongoing health crisis. This could include amending the
Housing Act to enable judges to use discretionary powers where a
tenant is in rent arrears due to Covid-19 for the next 12 months,
that compels tenant and landlord to work together to find a
solution and removes the option of eviction as the first resort.
The Committee has included the text of a draft Bill as an example
of how to achieve this. This would be supported by the abolition
of the ‘no fault evictions’.
The Committee additionally calls for Local Housing
Allowance (LHA) to be set at a level that reflects real market
rents and ensures those in need are able to afford properties in
their areas. The Government should guarantee that the rate be
maintained at the 30th percentile in the
long-term, and undertake an analysis of the impact of further
rises in LHA rates on renters and the wider rental market.
Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government
Committee,
said:
“We must praise the efforts of all those who have done so
much to help take people of the streets during the current health
emergency, but what happens next is crucial. It is simply not
good enough for anyone to leave temporary accommodation and end
up back on the streets. This isn’t just about protecting
vulnerable people from Covid-19. It is not safe to live on the
streets in any circumstances and it is not acceptable to allow it
to return once the health crisis abates.
“In our report we have called on the Government to grasp
the golden opportunity that has presented itself. For the first
time in over a decade, rough sleepers have been comprehensively
taken off the streets and given accommodation. This must become
the new norm.
“As it stands there are two main risks that need to be
addressed if the current low levels of rough sleeping are to
continue. Firstly, the Government needs to fund a comprehensive
housing-led exit strategy for those currently being housed in
short term accommodation during the Covid-19 crisis, which we
estimate will cost around £100m a year. Secondly, the Government
needs to amend legislation to ensure those in the private rented
sector who have been caught up in the economic fallout of the
pandemic are not evicted when the freeze on eviction proceedings
ends.
“In our interim report we have set out what the Government
will need to do immediately in terms of funding, policy and
legislation. There can be no question that we have to ensure no
one is forced to live on the streets, we now expect the
Government to put this achievable goal into long-term reality. We
will continue our inquiry to explore how to deal with other
long-term issues, such as the crucial issue of rent
arrears,”
