(Nick Ansell/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)One in 58 Londoners were homeless in 2022, according to new figures that reveal the capital has the most acute homelessness crisis in the UK.
London’s borough councils have described the figures, released by charity Shelter on Wednesday, as “devastating”.
The local authorities are calling on the Government to make urgent changes to national policy, warning the issue will “get even worse” amid the cost-of-living crisis, while Shelter says it is bracing for a “sharp rise” in homelessness in 2023.
Cllr Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ Executive Member for Regeneration, Housing & Planning, said: “These devastating figures reveal that London remains the epicentre of the homelessness crisis.
“Everyone deserves a permanent home, but the chronic shortage of affordable housing in the capital means too many Londoners find themselves homeless and reliant on temporary accommodation arranged by their local council. The numbers are so high they are equivalent to the entire population of a London borough.”
Shelter’s figures show the rate of homelessness in London last year was almost three times higher than that of England as a whole, which stood at one in 208.
The capital’s high rate of homelessness contrasts most starkly to that in the north east, which had the lowest rate in the country last year at one in 2,118 people.
Across the country, at least 271,000 people were homeless on any given night in 2022, with Shelter estimating almost half of them were children.
The figures were reached using Government statistics, Freedom of Information requests and data from the membership charity Homeless Link.
They include people sleeping rough and staying in hostels or supported accommodation, but the vast majority - nearly 250,000 people, mainly families - were living in temporary accommodation.
Use of temporary accommodation has risen by an “alarming” 74 per cent in the last decade, Shelter said, which it put down to a “chronic shortage” of social homes.
Meanwhile, the charity stressed the figures are likely to underestimate the true scale of the issue, as they do not include the various forms of hidden or unofficial homelessness, such as sofa surfing or overcrowded homes.
Cllr Rodwell, speaking on behalf of London Councils - a cross-party organisation representing London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London - said: “We’re concerned that cost-of-living pressures mean this desperate situation will get even worse before it gets better.
“Councils across the capital are seeing more and more residents turning to us for help.
“We urgently need renewed action on tackling homelessness, especially through making better use of the welfare system to help low-income households with their housing costs and through investing in the new affordable homes our communities are crying out for.”
London Councils is pushing for changes to be made to national housing and homelessness policy.
This includes an increase in the Local Housing Allowans (LHA) to improve support for low-income households in the private rented sector struggling to meet their housing costs.
It is also calling for more long-term investment in affordable housing, particularly in homes for social rent; and to ensure London boroughs’ homelessness services are sufficiently funded.
Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “The new year should be a time of hope, but this isn’t the case for the 271,000 homeless people who are facing a truly bleak 2023.
“A cold doorway or a grotty hostel room is not a home, but this is reality for too many people today.
“Our frontline advisers are working tirelessly to help people who are desperate to escape homelessness – from the parents doing all they can to provide some shred of a normal family life while stuck in an emergency B&B, to the person terrified of another night sleeping rough.
“With private rents and living costs continuing to soar, thousands of people are not just facing a winter of worry, they are at risk of losing the roof over their head.
“At Shelter, we are bracing ourselves for a sharp rise in homelessness in 2023. More than ever, we will be relying on the public’s generosity to help us support and campaign for all those fighting for a safe home.”
Meanwhile Labour MP Paula Barker, shadow homelessness and rough sleeping minister, said the figures were “shameful”.
“The Conservatives promised to prevent homelessness and end rough sleeping by the end of next year, but they are completely and utterly failing, with devastating consequences for thousands of families and children,” she said.
“This tragic trend will only continue unless the Government gets an urgent grip on this crisis.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Councils have a duty to ensure no family is left without a roof over their heads. That is why we’ve given them £366 million this year to help prevent evictions, support to pay deposits and provide temporary housing.
“Temporary accommodation is always a last resort. Over half a million households have been prevented from becoming homeless since 2018 through the Homelessness Reduction Act.
“We are also providing significant support to help people through these tough times by holding down energy bills and delivering up to £1,350 in direct cash payments to millions of vulnerable households.”
For more information or to donate to Shelter’s Winter Appeal, visit shelter.org.uk/donate.
