Shelter says there are nearly 139,000 children officially homeless and living in temporary accommodation - and it’s blaming the private rental sector, in part.
The campaigning charity, in a statement which also refers to its annual winter fundraising appeal, says the 139,000 figure is a record high and up 14 per cent on last year.
Polly Neate, chief executive, says: “We’ve hit yet another shameful record in the housing emergency, with nearly 139,000 children now facing spending Christmas without a safe and secure place to call home.
“Decades of failure to build enough social homes combined with record-high private rents has resulted in more and more families being plunged into homelessness. For most this will mean months or even years in temporary accommodation, where their lives are stuffed into cardboard boxes and they can be forced to move at the drop of a hat.
"To turn the tide on homelessness, the government must commit to building 90,000 genuinely affordable social homes a year.”
It claims some 7,500 families with children are living in hostels and B&Bs and says these are “often found to be the worst type of temporary accommodation where entire families are cramped into one room, forced to share beds and deal with safety hazards like faulty electrics and mould.”
New figures also show that over 73,600 households faced homelessness in England between April and June 2023 – up 3,000 on last year.
Separate data released by the National Residential Landlords Association shows that some 71 per cent of landlords reported increased tenant demand in Q3 2023, a record high.
This is up from 65 per cent the same time last year, and 22 per cent in Q3 2019 before lockdown measures were introduced by the Government.
The survey, conducted by the research consultancy BVA-BDRC, found that demand is strongest in the West Midlands, where 76 per cent of landlords reported increased tenant demand, followed by 75 per cent saying the same in Wales and 74 per cent in the South East (excluding London).
Despite record demand, more than one in 10 landlords said they sold property in Q3 2023. This is more than double the five per cent of landlords who confirmed they purchased property in the same period.
Similarly, 28 per cent of respondents said they plan to cut the number of properties they rent out over the next 12 months. This contrasts with the eight per cent of landlords who plan to increase the number they let over the coming year.
The NRLA warns that the ongoing imbalance between the demand for, and supply of, private rented housing will continue to erode the purchasing power of tenants. Crucially, this will put any gains which result from the Chancellor’s decision to unfreeze housing benefit rates at risk.
This article is taken from Letting Agent Today