Half a million on brink of homelessness, warns DCN

The District Councils’ Network has warned that almost half a million households are at high risk of becoming homeless as a result of the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Families at risk are likely to include lower earners that are on the frontline helping fight the coronavirus crisis across the health, food and logistic sectors. Council leaders are calling for the housing crisis to take centre stage in the government’s exit strategy in order to prevent a huge surge in homeless households as incomes fall as a result of changes to people’s employment circumstances during the pandemic.

New analysis reveals that there are 486,242 households paying over half of all their income on private rented housing, and could be most at risk as incomes fall and the current ban on evictions is lifted. Councils are especially concerned for: 108,000 lone parents with children, representing 20 per cent of all lone parents renting in the private sector; 100,000 16-to-24 year olds, almost 20 per cent of all young people renting in the private rented sector;  and the 160,000 households with incomes less than £15,000.

The DCN says the government should commit to: permanently lift housing benefit for tenants in private rented housing; increase funding for councils to prevent homelessness; invest in a renaissance of council house building to create homes, jobs and growth, and review the financial support given to businesses so that it incentivises them to retain and create jobs.

Giles Archibald, DCN Better Lives spokesperson, said: “Many families were already struggling to keep a roof over their heads before the coronavirus struck, including people now on the frontline beating this crisis, lone parents, low earners and young people. We have grave concerns that the huge impact on jobs and incomes could send many of these half a million families over the edge and into homelessness in the coming months, particularly those struggling to pay their rent in the private rented sector.

“Councils, landlords, charities and other partners are all working hard now to avoid people becoming homeless, however we are in unprecedented times and have grave concerns for the months ahead. The government has already rightly acted to support businesses and residents, but to avert a huge rise in homelessness it must now put the housing crisis at the centre of its exit strategy and recovery effort to support people as the scale of the economic impact becomes clearer.”