English Councils Breaking Law In 'Secretly' Relocating Homeless People

Councils across England are systematically breaking the law by relocating hundreds of homeless people outside of their boroughs without notifying the authorities receiving them. An investigation found that schools are being overwhelmed, with northern cities such as Bradford having received at least 290 households from 31 different boroughs in the past two years, many of them from London, Kent and Essex. If a homeless person is moved elsewhere in the country, local authorities are legally supposed to notify the council in charge of where they are being placed so social, medical and educational support can be put in place. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/01/english-councils-breaking-law-in-secretly-relocating-homeless-people

'Move To Birmingham' City Council Tells Tenant

People in Oxford in urgent need of housing are being offered properties as far away as Cardiff and Birmingham by council officials. Single mothers with nowhere permanent to live are among those who have been told they will have to relocate out of the county if they want city council help to find a house. People on benefits who are being priced out of Oxford’s private rented market are having to turn to the council for assistance. And officials say landlords are turning them down – leaving them with no choice but to sometimes look further afield for accommodation. Read more on the Oxford Times website.

Tory Borough Plans to Move Homeless Away From London

Homeless people face being moved outside their local area into rented accommodation rather than being placed on a waiting list for council housing under plans considered by a flagship Tory borough, according to leaked documents obtained by the Guardian.  Hammersmith & Fulham council admitted last week it was in talks, along with Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea, to relocate 500 families on benefits to the Midlands – but said any agreement would not result in a large-scale exodus.  However, Hammersmith & Fulham's new strategy makes it clear that anyone claiming to be homeless will now be offered accommodation "potentially outside the borough" – a break with past policy which sought to offer the destitute a local home until they were allocated council housing.  This thinking extends to planning policy: more than 10,000 homes will be given planning consent in the borough this year, yet not one will be available to the poor on a social rent, even though mayor Boris Johnson's London plan requires a quarter of new developments to be available to those on low wages.  The authority admits its policy will "end the previously assumed link between a homelessness application and a social housing tenancy".  Read more on the Guardian website.

Croydon's Homeless Asked To Move to Hull After Borough Runs Out

Homeless families will be asked to move to seaside towns in Yorkshire because of the chronic shortage of housing in Croydon. The council is so short of temporary accommodation that it will pay for destitute families to relocate more than 225 miles and live in areas such as Hull – once dubbed Britain's worst town – where homes are more readily available and rent is cheaper. The measure has been introduced to tackle a homelessness crisis in Croydon, epitomised by the 300 families currently living in bed and breakfasts – costing the council £300,000 a month. Croydon's housing crisis had been worsened by the need to find emergency accommodation for 58 families who lost their homes during the riots. There are currently 1,600 homeless families in Croydon, mostly in temporary accommodation. Croydon has already looked further afield for housing. Earlier this year, the authority paid for a homeless family to live in St Leonards-on-Sea near Hastings in East Sussex. Read more on the Croydon Advertiser.