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by Lamiat Sabin
HOMELESSNESS in England has hit its highest level in nearly 10 years, government figures revealed yesterday.
A total of 15,170 households were classed as homeless in the three months to June. The number has risen by 10 per cent in the last 12 months.
Around a third of the households are in London, according to the data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
Nearly 30,000 applications for housing assistance were made in those three months, the highest number since July-September 2008, but councils rejected almost half of those cries for help.
The most common reason for a household finding itself homeless is a private landlord ending a tenancy. Roughly a third of the reported cases included this factor.
Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: “These figures are a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating impact our drastic shortage of affordable homes is having.
“Every day at Shelter, we hear from families struggling to keep their heads above water when faced with the double blow of welfare cuts and expensive, unstable private renting, with far too many ultimately losing the battle to stay in their home.
“On top of this, stripped-back budgets and a drought of affordable homes are making it increasingly difficult for overburdened councils to find homeless families anywhere suitable to live.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way. Now is the time for the new government to seize the opportunity to tackle the root cause of this crisis by building homes that people on lower incomes can actually afford to live in.
“In the meantime, it’s essential that councils receive proper funding to deal with the huge volume of people coming to them for help.”
Homelessness charity Crisis called the figures “appalling.”
Chief executive Jon Sparkes said: “It isn’t enough to help people at crisis point. We need to prevent them from losing their home in the first place.”
The charity called on MPs to support the Homelessness Reduction Bill, tabled by Tory Bob Blackman, which is scheduled for debate at its second reading in the Commons on October 28.
Mr Sparkes added: “Prevention has already been shown to work in Wales, where it has dramatically reduced the need for people to be rehoused.”
The last time a higher level of homelessness was recorded was in April-June 2008, when 15,680 households sought help from local authorities.
