From today, councils must change the way they help homeless people, as the Homelessness Reduction Act comes into force.
The new legislation is certainly needed. Homelessness in England has reached crisis point, as the tragic reports of people dying on our streets during the recent cold weather have brought into sharp focus.
Few of us can say we haven’t noticed an increase in men and women bedding down. Street homelessness has more than doubled in five years: last autumn over … Read more
Homelessness Minister Heather Wheeler attracted attention over the weekend for saying she doesn’t know why rough sleeping is rising.
We have front-line homelessness services across the country and are happy to help the minister understand why.
From our point of view, homelessness isn’t that complicated. Time and again we see the same patterns and themes pushing people into homelessness and through the doors of our services.
First, the facts. Since 2010, all forms of homelessness have gone up in England. … Read more
Rebecca is a mum to three children, including a baby with type 1 diabetes. To prevent her baby from becoming seriously ill, she needs to monitor his blood sugar levels throughout the day and night and provide him with a carefully controlled diet.
If this wasn’t difficult enough, Rebecca was facing homelessness when her landlord decided to evict her and her family.
A new report from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) describes how Rebecca was badly let down by her … Read more
As Philip Hammond prepares for this week’s Budget, it looks increasingly likely that he will concede on making some changes to Universal Credit (UC). Faced with opposition from his own backbenchers, who have challenged him with distressing tales from their constituencies, Mr Hammond may opt to reduce the six week waiting time for the benefit.
If so, it will be welcome. We have been calling for changes for long enough. Our frontline workers are seeing families reduced to destitution because … Read more
Shelter has said it, local government has said it, former ministers have said it – and now private landlords are saying it welfare reform is damaging young renters’ ability to access a home.
A new report, commissioned by the Residential Landlords Association, yesterday warned that under-35-year-olds will have difficulty finding privately rented accommodation as landlords cut back on renting to young people.
The report, by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, surveyed 1,996 private landlords around the country. … Read more
A version of this blog first appeared on Inside Housing earlier this week.
The reduction to the benefit cap starts on Monday, putting more families at risk of losing their home. Ministers should re-think the cut if it is serious about tackling homelessness.
Next week, 319,000 children will begin to be affected by a new cap on their families’ benefit payments. With Christmas now less than two months away and many already living on a financial knife-edge, the prospect of … Read more
We’re delighted to say that this year, we’re joining Crisis, the London Housing Directors and the London Housing Federation in sponsoring the London Homelessness Awards. Regarded as the UK’s leading homelessness awards, they highlight and celebrate innovation within the sector.
Everyone from registered social landlords, agency partnerships and public sector health organisations to housing and social services departments, and voluntary sector organisations are encouraged to enter.… Read more
Yesterday, the General Election 2015 officially launched.
Over the next 37 days we can expect plenty of bold statements, lots of partisan accusations and endless footage of battle buses and rolled-up sleeves. The fight to win over the UK’s 42 million voters is well and truly on.
If politicians are clever, they’ll talk about fixing our housing crisis. Voters in the marginal seats – those key seats that will decide the outcome of the general election – are more likely … Read more
A debate is taking place about whether we should control – or cap – private rents in London.
With the 2016 Mayoral Election edging closer, this debate is heating up. Anyone throwing their hat into the ring is taking a view.
Shelter are currently looking at the technical implications of capping or controlling rents. But we also need to understand the political implications of this very public debate.
It is little wonder that renting dominates our capital’s discourse. The … Read more
Question:
How have we got into a situation in London where being homeless could mean:
a) Living in insecure temporary accommodation for up to 23 years
b) Living in temporary accommodation up to 200 miles away
c) Subject to the benefit cap with a £100 per week shortfall, putting you at risk of arrears and eviction?
Answer:
A heady combination of a housing shortage, inadequate government support with housing costs, some private landlords taking advantage of desperate councils, and the … Read more
This afternoon Shelter and Crisis are launching Sustain: a longitudinal qualitative research study of people’s wellbeing and outcomes in private rented sector housing. The study spent 19 months tracking the experiences and wellbeing of 128 people who had been rehoused in the private rented sector following a period of homelessness. It found that these people are frequently living in shocking conditions:
Every home had a condition problem. The majority of people had to deal with problem landlords. Some people… Read moreFollowing the actions of Fergus and Judith Wilson hundreds of private renters have been served legal eviction notices– simply for receiving some housing benefit. According to the most recent National Landlords Association survey just one in five landlords let to people on benefits.
Those in desperate need may turn to their council for homelessness assistance. All local authorities in England have a legal duty to assist people who are homeless, or threatened with homelessness. As the loss of … Read more