Homelessness numbers will continue to rise without urgent action – LGA on homelessness statistics

Responding to the latest homelessness and rough sleeping statistics published today, Cllr David Renard, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said:

“Councils work incredibly hard to prevent the tragedy of homelessness from happening, as well as supporting those who find themselves affected and are very concerned at today’s statistics, which are from before the worst of the cost of living crisis hit families.

“With evictions in the private rented sector continuing to rise, it is crucial that government urgently implements renters reform legislation to put a stop to ‘no fault’ evictions, and it is imperative that Local Housing Allowance rates are reviewed to ensure that at least a third of the market is affordable for people claiming housing related benefits.

“The building of affordable homes must also be prioritised and councils should be given the powers and resources to build 100,000 social homes a year to address the national shortage of affordable housing.

“If the Government doesn’t urgently develop a cross departmental homelessness prevention strategy in response, we can expect to see these numbers continue to rise.”