Number of people living in temporary accommodation in Oxford at all time low

Only 87 households were in temporary accommodation in and around Oxford this August, down from 96 recorded at the end of March 2017, and the lowest it has been for over 20 years.

The reduction contrasts the national trend as revealed by the National Audit Office which showed a 60 per cent increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation since March 2011.

The council’s ability to drive the number of households needing temporary accommodation down in spite of a challenging housing and economic environment is the result of its consistent homelessness prevention work.

In 2016/17, Oxford council and its partners prevented 1,107 households from becoming homeless. The work included: negotiations with landlords or other assistance to help people remain in their private rented property; assisting people to find private rented housing with the help of a deposit or bond; providing homeless prevention fund parents; helping to resolve using benefit and rent arrears problems; providing a sanctuary scheme; and undertaking reconciliation work with families when they threaten to exclude family members.

Further actions to prevent homelessness has been made possible by the government’s £790,000 Trailblazer initiative to assist local authorities in Oxfordshire to tackle homelessness across the county. The funding will be focused towards helping vulnerable single adults under the age of 35, and households at risk of homelessness. It will also bring agencies together to better identify, understand and reach individuals at risk of homelessness as far ahead of crisis points as possible.

Mike Rowley, board member for housing, said: “This remarkable reduction in the number of households in temporary accommodation shows the effectiveness of our work with families to help prevent homelessness long before they’ve hit crisis point. Where there is a need to provide temporary accommodation, we prefer to house families in suitable, high quality homes.

“Unfortunately housing benefit rates, set by government nationally, are no longer enough to fund the rent of many homes in Oxford, meaning we sometimes need to look outside the city for accommodation in which we can place those in housing need. Concerning property purchases for temporary accommodation, therefore, our approach is: ‘As much in Oxford as possible. As much outside the city as necessary, and then as close to Oxford as possible’.

“Nearby towns such as Didcot and Bicester have good facilities and transport links and are within a reasonable commutable distance to the city. However, our new Local Plan proposes the creation of urban extensions with good infrastructure and transport links to the city to provide many of the additional homes that Oxford needs.”