The latest government figures – from June 2015 – reveal that 66,980 families were homeless and living in temporary accommodation in England – a 12 per cent increase over the last year.
The majority of these families have children and there is particular concern after the figures revealed that 2,660 families with children were living in B&Bs.
Some of these had been living there as long as six weeks while they waited for permanent accommodation.
A household is considered homeless if they no longer have a legal right to occupy their accommodation or if it would be unreasonable to continue to live there, such as if living there would lead to violence against them.
Any household can apply to their local authority for acceptance for housing assistance, but if somewhere permanent cannot be found immediately, families are often placed in temporary accommodation.
The figures show that of the 66,980 families, 56,100 were placed in self-contained accommodation – with their own kitchen and bathroom facilities.
A further 10,890 were placed in temporary accommodation with shared facilities (B&Bs, hostels or women’s refuges) – this is a 14 per cent rise on June 2014’s figures.
Within this number, 5,630 were living in B&Bs, up by 23 per cent since June 2014.
Over the long-term, the government statistics show that after peaking in 2004, the number of families living in temporary accommodation fell sharply until the end of 2010. However, homelessness has since risen by 36 per cent.
Of the 66,980 families, 50,750 have dependent children and/or a pregnant woman – the average number of children in those families is two. Of the 50,750 figure, 44,600 of the families (88 per cent) were living in self-contained accommodation.
However, 2,660 were living in B&B-style accommodation – an increase of 25 per cent from June 2014 – with 830 of these (31 per cent) having been in B&Bs for more than six weeks – an increase of 36 per cent on June 2014.
The government statistics are released every quarter and figures for the April to June 2015 period show that 13,850 families were accepted for housing assistance – a five per cent increase on the same period in 2014. In London, the rise was 10 per cent.
Homeless charity Crisis blamed the “desperate state” of the private rented sector after the figures revealed that 30 per cent of those who had become homeless in the period had become so due to the ending of a private tenancy. In London, this figure was 38 per cent.
The charity’s chief executive Jon Sparkes called for housing benefit “that actually covers the cost of renting”. He added: “At the same time, we need decisive action to make the private rented sector more accessible and affordable, along with radical solutions to tackle the severe shortage of affordable homes.”