Housing ‘disgrace’ as number of families in temporary accommodation hits record high

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It comes days after after levelling up secretary Michael Gove said Britain’s housing crisis was even “worse” than widely believed, admitting: “We haven’t built enough homes overall for generations.” Matt Downie, Crisis chief executive, said it was “a disgrace” that so few homes had been built in the past year. Just 9,500 social homes were added to the housing supply in the past year Rick Henderson, CEO of charity Homeless Link, said the latest statistics, released by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, were “shocking” and warned of the financial impact on authorities in England, adding: “The cost of providing temporary accommodation is crippling local authorities across the country, to the extent that some are filing for bankruptcy and others are on the verge of going under.” Mr Henderson said the next government must build “the 90,000 social homes per year we need” and added: “In the short-term, evictions from private tenancies continue to be a major cause of homelessness, despite the commitment to ban ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions in 2019.” There is a huge need for affordable housing, and local authorities – who were traditionally big builders of social housing – have decreased the number of homes they build in recent decades. Tom Darling, campaign manager for the Renters’ Reform Coalition, described the latest statistics as “stark” and said they are “yet another reminder of the urgency of abolishing Section 21 evictions – which are a key driver of homelessness, as well as a source of constant insecurity for millions of tenants.” Melanie, 52, became homeless with her three children after being served with a Section 21 eviction and is now living in a Travelodge room with no cooking facilities. She added: “Decades of failure to build enough social homes combined with record-high private rents has resulted in more and more families being plunged into homelessness.” A Department for Levelling Up spokesperson said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home, that’s why we are spending £2bn over three years as part of a cross-government strategy to build homes for rough sleepers, give financial support for people to find a new home, and prevent evictions.