Evictions reach record high as 100 families a day lose homes

More than 100 families a day are losing their homes, according to new research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

According to a new report from the anti-poverty charity, around 40,000 tenants were evicted from their homes in 2015, which is an increase of more than 10,000 since 2003.

The report claims the increase is linked to the growth in the private rented sector and cuts to housing benefits.

As a result, it says tenants on low incomes are being evicted because their benefits do not pay market rents, and they are not able to afford alternative properties or get access to social housing.

Many of the evictions are carried out under section 21 of the 1988 housing act, which allows landlords to evict tenants after the initial rental period without giving a reason.

It report adds four out of every five repossessions using section 21 in England are in London, the east and the south east. Even within London, these repossessions are highly concentrated with a third occurring in just five boroughs – Newham, Enfield, Haringey, Brent and Croydon.

‘Tenants told us about the misery and insecurity they face,’ said JRF chief executive, Campbell Robb. ‘The government has made welcome moves to offer renters more protection. But it is intolerable that over 100 families a day are losing their homes. The government must act now and take immediate action on housing costs. This means lifting the freeze on housing benefit.’

The JRF report was published as town hall bosses have warned they are housing an extra secondary school’s worth of homeless children every month.

A new report by the Local Government Association, Housing our Homeless, shows the number of children in temporary housing has increased by an average of more than 900 every month since the second quarter of 2014 and now stands at a total of 120,540.

The report also warns the government’s own figures show the net cost of providing temporary accommodation has almost tripled from £50.9m in 2009/10 to £146.5m in 2015.16, although it adds this figure is ‘likely to be an underestimate’.

It adds research by York University for London Councils showed that the cost of temporary accommodation to local authorities in London alone was at least £170.4m in 2014/15 alone.

The LGA’s housing spokesman, Martin Tett, said the current situation is ‘unsustainable for councils’ and ‘disruptive for families’.

The report includes several case studies of how councils are working to tackle homelessness, including the London borough of Brent, which has set up its own property acquisition company, the Brent Housing Partnership, to buy and rent out accommodation in a bid to tackle the issue.

It also cites the example of Lewisham council, which has developed the Ladywell Development, as a means of avoiding placing households out of the borough and has so far built 24 residential units.