Across the whole of London, new findings from London Councils has revealed that around one in every 50 Londoners is now homeless and living in temporary housing.
According to London Councils, which is a collective of all London boroughs, there are now 169,393 homeless people includes 83,473 children.
The report from London Councils follows latest government data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities which revealed 324 households in Ealing were estimated to be homeless which up from 267 a year ago. Another 556 households were also threatened with homelessness of which faced losing the roof over their head following getting a Section 21 notice to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.
Across Ealing, 2.6 per 100,000 people were estimated to be homeless which is nearly 50% higher than the 1.8 per 100,000 people national average.
London Councils has also issued a warning that the housing situation is becoming difficult for councils to manage. In a statement, the group said: “Boroughs are calling for emergency action from the government to help low-income households meet their housing costs and to address the enormous financial pressures facing local homelessness services.”
Among actions it wants the government to address are:
- Raise Local Housing Allowance
- Boost Homelessness Prevention Grant funding
- Increase Discretionary Housing Payments
- Bring forward a cross-departmental strategy to reduce homelessness
Cllr Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ executive member for gegeneration, housing and planning said: “This is the latest evidence of the homelessness disaster unfolding
in the capital. One in 50 Londoners homeless and living in temporary accommodation is an appalling statistic.
“We are especially concerned by the skyrocketing numbers of families stuck in B&Bs. Nobody wants this happening and boroughs do everything we can to support homeless families into suitable accommodation. However, more and more often boroughs face a total lack of other options for keeping a roof over these families’
heads.
“Homelessness pressures across the capital are fast becoming unmanageable. Ministers need to treat this as the emergency it clearly is. Much more action is needed to help low-income households avoid homelessness and to reverse the rising numbers relying on temporary accommodation.”
