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One in five people concerned about homelessness, study shows
A fifth of people surveyed in the UK fear they or someone they know could become homeless in the next year, a new study from housing association Places for People (PfP) has revealed.
Renters were the most concerned, with 30% of private renters and 29% of social renters worried about homelessness, compared with 15% of homeowners.
More than three-quarters of respondents supported the government building more social homes to address the problem, while 81% said the government should provide more funding to prevent homelessness.
Four-fifths said homelessness was a “major national issue”.
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The survey of 4,000 UK citizens was conducted by Opinium on behalf of PfP, which owns or manages more than 245,000 homes across the UK, including 74,000 social homes.
John Greaves, chief impact officer at PfP, said: “What we found has bluntly exposed the worry that exists throughout the country. Sadly, however, they do not come as a surprise. For too long, we have been highlighting the seriousness of the ever-growing homelessness crisis facing the UK.”
Like Inside Housing’s Build Social campaign, PfP is calling on the next government to build 90,000 social homes a year.
“As a sector, the concerns we have raised time and time again around the need for more social homes have not been listened to by government in recent years,” Mr Greaves said.
“So, we are now urging whoever forms the next government to listen to the people of the UK and put delivering more social homes at the top of your priority list. Talking’s over, it’s time to build.”
PfP is calling for “public-interest-led development groups” to deliver the homes through partnerships between developers, local authorities and other groups.
“This could be supported by giving Homes England greater flexibility over funding to deliver on more challenging sites. We want to put ourselves forward to work closely with Homes England and a local authority on a specific site to trial this model, building on the development corporation approach,” Mr Greaves explained.
Government data showed that 3,898 people were counted as sleeping rough across England on a single night in autumn 2023.
Households living in temporary accommodation have reached their highest ever levels, with 112,660 in England, 15,625 in Scotland and 5,700 in Wales.
Fresh data recently revealed that just under a quarter of English councils spent 5% of their core budget on temporary accommodation in 2022-23.
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