Record levels of child homelessness have been reported as Christmas approaches, with statistics from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) revealing a 15% rise in households with children living in emergency accommodation.
The Renters’ Reform Coalition suggested that the ongoing increase in homelessness was driven by no-fault evictions amid England’s renting crisis.
A total of 159,380 children were found to be living in temporary accommodation, the highest number ever recorded.
7,040 households were owed homelessness support due to Section 21 evictions, the highest quarterly figure on record, marking a 3% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
8,590 households faced homelessness because landlords sold their homes – another record high.
Campaigners warned that this type of eviction will still be permitted under the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill, and urged the Government to strengthen the bill to better support renters facing no-fault evictions by providing two months’ rent as compensation, in the form of waived rent during the final two months post-eviction notice.
The MHCLG’s English Housing Survey also indicated ongoing affordability issues in private renting.
Nearly half of renters reported having no savings, while renters spend an average of just under 40% of their incomes on rent (excluding housing benefits).
Lucy Tiller, policy and public affairs manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “With Christmas around the corner, the escalating crisis in private renting and homelessness is pushing families to the breaking point.
“Each new quarter brings shameful new records – unprecedented levels of child poverty, rising no fault evictions, and eye-watering rents pushing tenants into poverty.
“Renters cannot afford to wait much longer for support.
“We welcome the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill – it can’t come soon enough. We have to be clear though that the Bill won’t end much of what we’re seeing today, including landlords evicting to sell.
Tiller added: “The bill should be strengthened to support renters faced with these evictions. Allowing renters to forego the last two months’ rent as compensation would help them manage the high costs of an unwanted move, reduce the risk of them falling into homelessness, and discourage dodgy landlords from misusing these grounds and threatening to turf families out onto the street.
“As currently drafted, the Bill also fails to address the simple fact that so many people are struggling to afford their rent.
“English Housing Survey results released today show that skyrocketing rents continue to be a massive problem, with private renters suffering the most unaffordable housing costs. Everyone should be able to afford to live.
“That’s why the Government should cap rent increases within tenancies, so they can’t rise faster than local wages or inflation, to stop renters being forced out of their homes by unaffordable rent hikes.”
