Safe Homes For Young Adults Under Threat

Shrinking council housing, benefit cuts and rising private rents have made it more difficult for disadvantaged young people to find somewhere to live. Between 2008 and 2013, the proportion of 16- to 24-year-old renters in social housing managed by councils or housing associations dropped by 23% – the greatest drop of any measured age group. And the average time youths spent in homeless accommodation nearly doubled, to 16 months last year. Many single young people are shut out of social housing because they do not qualify as “priority homeless” so they turn to the private rented sector, where the prohibitive cost of an upfront deposit and the insecure nature of their tenancy are major obstacles. Now housing organisations are guiding young adults into safe and affordable rooms and shared tenancies. Read more on Welfare Weekly.

How To Make Right To Buy Work For Those In Poverty

A combination of selling council houses as they become vacant and Housing Association homes being sold off under the new Right to Buy risks reducing the number of new lettings by up to 19,100 per year.  Will those on low incomes will be able to afford replacement homes?  If replacement homes are for shared ownership or let at a market-linked rent rather than the current social rents, then the answer is probably not.   Just 3% of new social renters could afford to buy a shared ownership property. In real terms, this means after five years we’ll have up to 13,000 more families stuck in homeless accommodation, and 61,000 more paying an average of £1668 a year more to rent in the private sector. But, if the new homes are let at the same rents as the homes they replace, Right to Buy could actually increase the number of low cost homes available to rent. Read more on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.

Council Opens First Empty Buildings For Homeless

Empty council buildings in Manchester are to be used as overnight shelters for the city's rough sleepers. The former Hulme Library building and the former Beech Mount Children's Home in Harpurhey are the first to be opened up from next month. Homeless organisations will be able to refer people to the temporary accommodation. The council is also assessing other empty buildings across the city. It is part of an ongoing campaign to improve services for homeless people and increase the amount of bed spaces over the winter. The move will result in an extra 165 bed spaces. Read more on the Manchester City Council website.

Surge in Homelessness among Young People across the UK

The numbers of homeless young people depending on councils and charities to put a roof over their heads, is three times greater than those officially recorded by the British government. According to a study by Cambridge University’s Centre for Housing and Planning Research, 83,000 homeless young people had to rely on charities and councils for shelter in 2013-14—far exceeding the 26,852 recorded by the Department for Communities and Local Government. At any one time, around 35,000 young people live in homeless accommodation across the UK. Most of the UK’s homeless young people (63,976) were located in England. Of these, 17,711 are located in the largest city, London. In Wales 4,133 were reported, 12,107 in Scotland and 3,025 in Northern Ireland. Download the report from the CHPR website.

Scale of Youth Homelessness 'Going Unrecorded'

More than three times as many homeless young people a year are estimated to be relying on charities and councils for a roof over their heads across the UK than officially recorded by the government, according to new research commissioned by the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. An estimated 83,000 homeless 16-24 year-olds relied on the support of councils and charities in the UK in 2013-14 compared to just 26,852 recorded by statutory homelessness figures compiled by the CLG and authorities. Hostels were found to be almost always full or over-subscribed, with around 35,000 young people in homeless accommodation at any one time across the UK. The government’s official homelessness statistics only record the number of homeless young people local authorities have a statutory duty to house –  those in ‘priority need’ such as young parents, under-18s or care leavers. Read more on the Centrepoint website.

Homeless Accommodation: More Complaints against Councils

There has been a sharp increase in complaints about accommodation offered to the homeless in England, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has said. An LGO report describes a "worrying trend" of councils putting an increasing number of homeless families into bed and breakfast accommodation. Complaints to the ombudsman have risen by 14% in two years, it said. The Local Government Association said councils did a good job "in difficult circumstances." The LGO said it decided to publish a number of individual stories to bring attention to the issue. Read more on the BBC website.