More households with children in temporary accommodation for at least five years

The number of households with children living in temporary accommodation in England for at least five years has risen by almost a quarter.

The latest official figures show that, in the year to March, there were 16,790 such households in some form of temporary accommodation for this length of time.

This is an increase of 24% on the previous 12 months, when the figure stood at 13,530 households with children.

Shelter said the data, published on Thursday by the Government, shows that the “housing emergency has trapped many families in temporary accommodation for over five years” while Crisis described the situation as “heartbreaking”.

A total of 90 households with children had been in bed and breakfast accommodation for at least five years, the latest figures showed, up from 60 the previous year.

The number of households with children in temporary accommodation, which is a form of homelessness, for at least five years accounts for more than a fifth (22.5%) of all such households in such accommodation, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said.

Just under half (49.5%) of these households were in private sector accommodation, while a fifth (20.4%) were in local authority or housing association accommodation stock, and a similar proportion (21.4%) were in nightly paid self contained, privately managed accommodation, the department said.

Just over a fifth (22.8%) of households with children were in temporary accommodation for between two and five years, accounting for 16,690, it added.

The most common length of time for households with children to be living in temporary accommodation was less than six months, representing 17,430 (23.4%) of households with children, MHCLG said.

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “No child should have to face the trauma of growing up homeless, but housing emergency has trapped many families in temporary accommodation for over five years.

“Overpriced private rentals and the lack of genuinely affordable social homes are pushing families into homelessness and insecure temporary accommodation.”

Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, said: “To see proof that we have tens of thousands of families spending years of their lives trapped in unsuitable temporary accommodation like mouldy B&Bs which are damaging their children’s health and robbing them of life experiences like having friends over to play is heartbreaking.

“Unless we take a different approach, this will become the reality for generations to come.”

John Glenton, from Riverside, which describes itself as the largest provider of accommodation for people affected by homelessness, said: “It’s very worrying to see a sharp rise in the number of homeless households with children stuck in temporary accommodation for more than five years.

“These children are now spending around a third of their entire childhood living in temporary accommodation rather than a permanent family home.

“This is not acceptable in one of the world’s richest nations.”

A total of 324,990 households were assessed as being owed help from their local authority in the year to March, due to facing a threat of homelessness or already being homeless, up from 298,430 households the previous year.

Adam Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), said while councils “want to turn the tide of rising homelessness” the increase in people needing support “shows the scale and urgency of the issues they face”.

The LGA has called for more support for homelessness services in the Autumn Budget as well as “powers and resources” for councils to “address the national shortage of affordable housing”.

The number of households assessed as needing homelessness help as a result of a section 21 no fault eviction notice rose by almost 8% year-on-year, from 24,260 to 26,150.

The Renters’ Rights Bill, which the Government has said will abolish section 21 evictions, is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “It’s clear from today’s data that the renting crisis is driving the homelessness crisis.

“Amid this escalating social crisis, the Government’s Renters’ Rights Bill is absolutely crucial.”

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali said the latest numbers “show the devastating impact homelessness has on people’s lives and it is shocking that so many, including families with children, are spending years without a place to call home”.

She said the Government is committed to tackling the root causes of homelessness by “putting in place lasting solutions rather than quick fixes”.

She added: “We are reversing the worst housing crisis in living history by building 1.5 million new homes and are changing the law to abolish Section 21, no-fault evictions – immediately tackling one of the leading causes of homelessness.

“In addition, we’ve announced a new dedicated cross government group, tasked with creating a long-term strategy to end the disgraceful levels of homelessness.”