· In
the last 5 years, the number of homeless families living in
temporary accommodation has increased by 48%.
· Losing
a private tenancy remains the single biggest cause of
homelessness. 16,320 households became homeless after being
evicted from a privately rented home in the last year, accounting
for 28% of all homeless households in priority
need.
· In
the last 12 months, nearly 58,000 families were accepted as
homeless by their local council. This equates to an increase of
8% over the last 5 years.
Polly Neate, CEO of Shelter,
said: “Today’s figures lay bare the true
extent of our homelessness crisis which is thrusting thousands of
families into insecure temporary accommodation. This is fuelled
by a crippling combination of increasing rents, brutal welfare
changes and an underlying lack of affordable homes.
“It’s no surprise that eviction from a privately rented
home is the biggest cause of homelessness. Families up and down
the country are battling to pay their rent or find somewhere they
can afford. Rents eat up such a huge chunk of income that many
families then struggle to provide essentials like putting food on
the table and paying their utility bills.
“To prevent thousands more families from sliding into
homelessness, the government must get on with the job of building
many more homes that are genuinely affordable for families to
rent and making lettings more stable and secure.”
Notes to editors
-
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(MHCLG) statistics were released for the three months from
October 2017 to December 2017. The last twelve months of data
is from January 2017 to December 2017. We compared this to data
from January 2012 to December 2012.
-
The number of families accepted as homeless by their
local council is from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and
Local Government (MHCLG) Live homelessness table 780
-
The number of households becoming homeless after an
eviction from a privately rented home in the last year, is the
number of households who lost their last settled home due to
the ending of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). ASTs are the
type of tenancy used in the private rented sector. This is from
the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(MHCLG) Live homelessness table 774_England
-
The number of families in temporary accommodation is from
the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(MHCLG) Live table 775_England
