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.
