Five families a day made homeless by cost-of-living crisis, says Labour

More than 5 families a day became homeless in the first three months of this year because they could not afford increases in their rent or had difficulty making payments, new government figures show. 

Between January and March, 420 households were assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty by their local council because they had trouble budgeting or making payments, and the same applied to a further 80 households because of rent increases. 

That means 500 households lost their home, an average of over 5 every day – an increase of 4.2% on the previous quarter and a rise of 39% on the same period last year. 

These figures, which highlight the impact of the Tory cost-of-living crisis, were included in the latest government homelessness statistics, released on Tuesday. 

They showed that 83,240 households were assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness in the first three months of this year, up 5.7% on January-March 2022 and up 11.5% on the previous three months. 

104,510 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2023, the highest figure since records began 25 years ago and more than double the number at the same point in 2010. 

6,440 households were homeless or threatened with homelessness because of service of a Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notice – an increase of 23% on the previous quarter. 

Labour has called for an immediate ban on ‘no fault’ evictions and has promised to deliver this as part of its Renters’ Charter in government. 

Since the Conservatives first promised to abolish Section 21 more than four years ago, 71,130 households have been made homeless or threatened with homelessness because of it, according to the latest figures. 

That means that, on average, 346 families have been affected every week since the government first made its commitment, which it has still not delivered. 

Paula Barker MP, Shadow Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Minister, said: 

“These figures are a shameful indictment of the government’s record. 

“The Conservatives promised to prevent homelessness and end rough sleeping by the end of next year, but they are completely and utterly failing, with devastating consequences for thousands of families and children. 

“Labour has set out plans to scrap Section 21 and end automatic evictions for rent arrears through our Renters’ Charter, and we will build more affordable and social housing to get people into safe, secure homes.” 

Ends

Notes

The latest government statistics on homelessness were released yesterday (25 July): 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-january-to-march-2023/statutory-homelessness-in-england-january-to-march-2023#in-this-release 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness 

Key figures: 

• 83,240 households were initially assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness and owed a statutory homelessness duty between January and March 2023, up 5.7% on the same period last year and up 11.5% on the previous quarter. 
• 37,890 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness and therefore owed a prevention duty, up 16.1% on the previous quarter. 
• 41,950 households were initially assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty, up 10.7% on the same quarter last year and up 8.5% on last quarter. 
• 104,510 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2023, the highest figure since records began 25 years ago and more than double the number at the same point in 2010. 
• 500 households became homeless in the first three months of this year because they could not afford increases in their rent or had difficulty making payments – up 38.9% on the same period last year and up 4.2% on the last quarter. That’s more than 5 families a day, on average, for the first three months of this year. 
• 6,440 households were homeless or threatened with homelessness because of service of a Section 21 eviction notice – an increase of 23.4% on the previous quarter. 
• Since the government first promised to abolish Section 21 in April 2019, 71,130 households have been made homeless or threatened with homelessness because of a Section 21 notice. That’s 346 households per week, on average. 

The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto promised to “prevent people from falling into homelessness” and “end the blight of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament”: https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5dda924905da587992a064ba_Conservative%202019%20Manifesto.pdf (pg. 30)