Homelessness increases 5% year over year

More families and individuals are homeless. Over the last five years, the total number of individuals without a stable place to live has increased over 40%. Most recently there was a 5% increase in the rate since 2014 as well. Many experts say the homeless rate is increasing due to benefit cuts being made by the government as well as rapidly increasing rental costs.

The total number of households that are considered to be homeless now stands at over 55,000. This is the official rate, but it may not count all those that truly do not have a place to live. Also, since most households have more than one person in them, then this means that the total number of official homeless “unique” individuals in the UK can stand at close to 200,000.

The number of households living in a temporary accommodation has also been increasing at a rapid rate. The number has gone up 12% year over year and now stands at over 65,000 according to council data. These families may be living in a hostel or shelter. So while they are “technically” not homeless as they have lodging available to them, the fact is they still not not have permanent housing.

When combining these numbers, this means that over 120,000 households do not have their own home to live in. The true number may be much higher as these are official council figures. There are bound to be tens of thousands of more that are not counted in these figures that are staying with friends or family or live in unsanctioned housing and not council units.

Local councils try to do their best to help the homeless. They offer schemes that can help with paying rent deposits as well as ongoing tenancy support. Each local authority is struggling to meet the demand though, as with the housing shortage as well as ongoing welfare cuts, the tools each agency has to provide support is limited.

The Tory’s have been continuing to try to balance the budget in the UK. The central government is scaling back housing benefits that so many families on a low income have relied on, making it more difficult for local council’s. The amount paid out is decreasing from £26,000 to to £20,000, with a higher amount provided for housing in the city of London.

Not only is the local housing allowance being cut, but other safety net programmes are being reduced by the government. One example is the implementation of the Universal Credit. The result is that tenants now need to balance their rent payments, food, and other bills, and with less money to go around, many more families fall into homelessness.

With less money paid out to families living in poverty, then, when the tenant’s rent goes up, since their benefits are limited and the housing cost has increased, many end up evicted. Others are moved by their council to a different city that is more affordable. About 25% of tenants are being moved rather than being homeless, so while that is positive, it presents many other challenges around social connections of the family. It is a cycle that is proving difficult to break.