Homeless left trapped as rents soar and affordable housing dwindles, report reveals

ACCESS to low-cost private rented housing across England has become nearly impossible for people living in homelessness accommodation and services, leaving potentially tens of thousands of people stuck in insecure accommodation, without work, and feeling ‘crushed’ and ‘punished’.

No Access, No Way Out – a new report by independent researcher Becky Rice on behalf of social justice charity Commonweal Housing – reveals the shocking state and scarcity of private rented housing options for single homeless people. It comes following a record surge in rent prices, falling supply at the bottom end of the market, and a rapid increase in the number of homeless people in need of low-cost housing.

With no route to the private rented sector (PRS) and systemic barriers to work, homeless but stable individuals are stuck in limbo as they cannot afford to leave their current, often high-cost transitional support services.

A 2022 survey by the homelessness membership charity Homeless Link showed that more than 40 percent of people living in services were ready but unable to move on from their current provision. In the two years since this data was collected, however, new tenancy prices have risen by nearly a fifth, meaning that this figure is likely even higher.

This is compounded by the fact that when people start working, their housing benefit is reduced, and so clients of homelessness services often must stay on Universal Credit as they cannot access a high enough income to cover their rent, creating a poverty trap.

At the same time, the report found that landlords often have a preference for tenants not in work, as they receive guarantees of income directly via a tenant’s benefits payments.

One individual with lived experience of this said:

“[The ideal tenant is] someone in a wheelchair who would sit in the corner of the flat, purely someone who will never work again.”

Rising housing costs are not just a barrier to leaving homelessness, but a driver of it too. The end of PRS tenancies is the main reason for homelessness, while homelessness charity St Mungo’s reports an increase in the number of homelessness referrals due to job losses, and even ‘a lot of workers, making pretty good salaries’.

Meanwhile, data from the largest shelter provider in London shows that the number of clients it has moved into the PRS has decreased by almost half (43 percent) over the last three years, despite growing demand for these services.

With no fluid move-on from services – such as hostels or winter shelters – for those ready to live independently, a backlog has rapidly built up. This has left those in need of services unable to access them due to capacity limits, and therefore having to sleep rough. In 2022, more than two-thirds of services had to reject clients for capacity reasons.

Rice’s research was compiled through interviews with both clients and staff of homelessness services or local authorities, who together chronicle the struggles in accessing the PRS. Interviewees reported a raft of concerns, including:

Feeling trapped and desperate: Living in services for extended periods of time with no access to move-on private rented housing was traumatising, and created a sense of desperation, and hopelessness, with one client abandoning the services and potentially facing rough sleeping.

Quality of housing: Available PRS accommodation was described by some respondents as ‘hovels’, and said to be cramped and lacking in basic amenities like a shower or a table.

Competing for viewings: Clients were competing in a ‘rat race’ with ’50 other people to go and see a one-bed flat’, where they faced discrimination and were re-traumatised, and could take ‘months and even years’ to find a property.

Illegal and unethical landlord practices: Interviewees from both clients and staff of services reported alarming experiences of landlord practices, including:

• Concerns about racial profiling and discrimination, including asking for tenants with fluent English
• Expecting clients who are on disability benefits to pay a higher level of rent
• Requesting tenants’ Universal Credit logins
• Evicting people without going through the correct procedure.

The forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill announced as part of this year’s Kings’ Speech is set to reform the private rented system, including the abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions. However, the report calls for the Bill to be robust enough to increase the rights of those who are accessing the cheapest end of the market, including those who have experienced homelessness.

Further recommendations include:

• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) must ensure that a fairer, more equitable PRS is central to ending rough sleeping
• For the Department of Work and Pensions to expand and evaluate programmes that provide a bridge from supported accommodation to employment, helping people to save for a deposit and access PRS on the open market.

Ashley Horsey, Chief Executive at Commonweal Housing, said:

“While much has been said about the private rental market these past two years, particularly from the perspective of ‘Generation Rent’, next-to-nothing is being said or done for those who cannot rent. Their access to independent housing, employment, and a fresh start is denied often by no fault of their own. Before any new legislation starts its passage through Parliament, those living on the margins and forgotten before must be given centre stage.

“The solutions to the problems that Becky Rice has highlighted and so powerfully articulated by those working with and struggling in this broken system can and must be addressed. We now call on colleagues in the sector and across policy to bring forward a coordinated and cross-departmental set of measures to ensure that everyone can access work and a safe, secure and affordable home.”