New government figures on homelessness in London released today show:
- The loss of a private tenancy remains the single biggest cause of homelessness, with over 8,070 households in London becoming homeless after an eviction from a privately rented home in the last year, almost six times as many households as 5 years ago and the highest since records began.
- In the last year alone, 19,680 households in London were accepted as homeless by their local council – almost twice as many as 5 years ago.
Responding to the figures, chief executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb said: “These figures are a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating impact our drastic shortage of affordable homes is having.
“Every day at Shelter we hear from families struggling to keep their heads above water when faced with the double blow of welfare cuts and expensive, unstable private renting, with far too many ultimately losing the battle to stay in their home. On top of this, stripped back budgets and a drought of affordable homes are making it increasingly difficult for overburdened councils to find homeless families anywhere suitable to live.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way. London’s new mayor has a big chance now to tackle the root cause of this crisis by following through on his pledge to build more homes that people on lower incomes can actually afford to live in. In the meantime, it’s essential that councils receive proper funding to deal with the volume of people coming to them for help.”