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Social housing shortage cited in prevention of future deaths report issued to MHCLG after homeless man takes own life
A coroner has warned the government about the social housing shortage following the death of a man who took his own life after an eviction left him homeless, which led to being separated from his family and living in a vehicle.
Alison Mutch, senior coroner for Manchester South, sent a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) last week following an inquest into the death of Paul Williams, who took his own life at a location in Stockport in July 2024.
The inquest, which ended last month, reached a conclusion of suicide, with police having found no suspicious circumstances.
Ms Mutch wrote in the PFD report: “The inquest heard that Paul Williams was a hard-working family man in employment.
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“He and his family had been evicted from their privately rented accommodation and became homeless.
“They were given a period of two weeks to leave the property and find alternative accommodation. While looking for accommodation, the family was forced to live in separate locations. In his case that included living in a vehicle in the week.
“The inquest was told that the family was a priority case, but a shortage of public housing meant that in total they had to wait almost three months before suitable accommodation became available.
“The evidence before the inquest was that the housing situation including the eviction, the homelessness and need to live separately whilst waiting for suitable accommodation to become available had a significant impact on his mental health and contributed to his deteriorating condition.”
The PFD report did not give a reason why he had been evicted and did not state which local authority Mr Williams had sought housing support from.
MHCLG is the only listed recipient of the report outside his family.
Landlords can currently evict tenants with two weeks’ notice over rent arrears. The Renters’ Rights Bill, which has passed through the House of Commons and will receive its second hearing in the House of Lords next month, will double the required notice period to four weeks.
Although this would still fall short of the three-month wait for suitable housing faced by Mr Williams.
A spokesperson for MHCLG said: “This is a tragic case and we offer our sincere condolences to Mr Williams’ family. We will carefully consider the findings of this report and respond as soon as possible.”
Labour has an aim to deliver 1.5 million homes in five years and committed an extra £500m to the Affordable Homes Programme as part of what it calls “the biggest social housing boost in a generation”. However, it has yet to set a specific numerical target for social housebuilding.
A survey of 76 stock-holding local authorities published last week by Southwark Council found that 61% of councils had already cancelled, paused or delayed housebuilding projects. Seventy-one per cent expect to scale back their overall commitments to redevelop or build new council homes and 28% expect to sell off existing council homes to make ends meet.
Cash-strapped housing associations are also going cold on buying affordable homes in private developments under Section 106 agreements, with Homes England forced to set up a ‘clearing service’ to sell uncontracted and unsold affordable housing outside London.
PFD reports are issued when a coroner believes a problem raised at an inquest could cause future deaths, even if it did not cause the specific death covered by the inquest.
MHCLG has 56 days to respond to the PFD report.
If you or you believe a person you know is at risk of suicide, you can reach the Samaritans here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
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