New record highs in homelessness prompt calls to tackle ‘national scandal’

A total of 117,450 households were in this situation in England at the end of March, some 74,530 of which were households with children, the latest official figures showed.

Both are record highs, according to data published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on Thursday.

There were 151,630 children living in temporary accommodation, an increase of 15% compared with the end of March last year and the highest figure since this measure began in 2004.

The new Labour Government has branded the situation “nothing short of a national scandal” as the country faces the “most acute housing crisis in living memory”.

Temporary accommodation is a form of homelessness and can include people living in hostels or bed and breakfasts (B&Bs).

The figure for total households in temporary accommodation has risen each quarter for the past two years, and is up by 24% on 95,000 in early 2022.

The figure for households in B&Bs – 17,750 – as of the end of March is 30% higher than the same time last year, while the 5,550 households with children living in B&Bs was up by almost half (44.2%).

By law, B&Bs are meant to be used only for families in an emergency, and for no longer than six weeks, but the figures showed 3,250 households with children had been there for longer than that.

This figure was a rise of 79.6% from 1,810 at the end of March 2023.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Ministry of Justice, also published on Thursday, showed bailiff repossessions as a result of a Section 21 no-fault eviction reached the highest level for six years.

Landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if the tenants have not left by the date specified in a Section 21 notice.

There were 2,916 such repossessions between April and June this year, an increase of 31% on the same period last year and the highest quarterly figure since the beginning of 2018.

The MHCLG figures showed that 6,630 households were assessed by councils as being threatened with homelessness between January and March 2024 due to Section 21 notices to end their tenancies, a rise of 1.2% from the same quarter last year.

While Labour has said it is abolishing no-fault evictions, campaigners have called for it to take action more quickly.

Housing charity Shelter said this Government must “tackle the housing emergency head on”.

Its chief executive Polly Neate said: “Without a clear plan to invest in genuinely affordable social homes, thousands more children will be forced to grow up in damaging temporary accommodation, spending months if not years living out of suitcases, crammed into grim bedsits and B&Bs, and unable to put down any roots.”

Big Issue founder and crossbench peer Lord Bird, who has spoken out about his experience of growing up in poverty, described the latest figures as “appalling” and warned that “another winter looms and there’s little being done to turn this terrible tide”.

He added: “The time for nebulous homelessness taskforces and woolly cross-government strategies is over. This is an urgent and immediate crisis, on which our new government must act now.”

Amnesty International UK described homelessness as a “fundamental human rights issue that should concern us all” and labelled the rise in children living in temporary accommodation “astounding”.

The charity’s economic and social rights lead, Jen Clark, said: “Continued rises in the numbers of people facing, or at risk of, homelessness has become a grim status quo in the UK.

“Additionally alarming is the lack of acknowledgment from policymakers that we are in the midst of a devastating homelessness crisis, which is underpinned by repeated and systemic failures to protect our human rights.”

Riverside housing provider described the situation as a “genuine humanitarian crisis”, saying the figures for children in temporary accommodation exceed the population of some of the UK’s major cities.

Its assistant director of operations, Dave Robinson, said: “For the first time we now have more than 150,000 homeless children living in temporary accommodation.

“The latest increase means we now have more homeless children living in temporary accommodation (151,630) in England than we have people living in towns and cities such as Ipswich (151,565) Blackpool (149,070) and York (141,685).”

Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “While in opposition this Government pledged to end no fault evictions “immediately”, and the King’s speech last month rightly promised a ‘Renters’ Rights Bill’.

“However, renters cannot afford to wait much longer – we must see legislation brought forward soon to get a grip on the situation and address the renting crisis.”

The Local Government Association, which represents councils, said the section 21 ban “needs to be brought forward as quickly as possible”, adding that a “genuine cross-departmental approach to tackling this crisis, as part of a long-term government strategy, is key with councils given the powers and resources needed to address the national shortage of affordable housing”.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “We are facing the most acute housing crisis in living memory and homelessness remains at record levels. This is nothing short of a national scandal.

“Urgent action must be taken to fix this. That’s why we are working across Government and with local leaders to develop a long-term strategy to end homelessness for good.

“Work is already under way to stop people from becoming homelessness in the first place.

“This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable homebuilding in a generation, abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and a multimillion-pound package to provide homes for families most at risk of homelessness.”