Brent launches its campaign to encourage homeless families to move out of the borough: 'little prospect that temporary accommodation will lead to social housing'

 

Brent - Housing Crisis

 

On the 1st July Wembley Matters ran a story LINK  revealing that Brent Council were to run a campaign to urge people on the Council housing waiting list to 'up sticks and move somewhere else where private rents are lower'. 

That campaign was launched today with a video and website. At one level it can be seen as admitting that Brent housing policy has failed, along with government housing policy. Not enough council or social rent homes are being built to match the demand.

At another level it may be claimed that this is a form of social cleansing: poorer people with local connections are being forced to move out of London to find somewhere decent to live, but will also have to find jobs and school places. Brent Council has offered to help them with the move but will only make a ' one time' offer in the private sector to end homelessness.

A worry for some, perhaps underlined by the recent 'race' riots, is that families from ethnic minority backgrounds, will not feel welcome, or worse, in the towns that they move.

If the offer is taken up by the hundreds of families on the housing waiting list it will have implications for school rolls and therefore school finances. A school places review is already in progress with forms of entry reduced in some schools.

The 'child yield' of new developments (the number of children expected to move in or be born into the new developments) is expected to be low.

Another long term repercussion will be on the number of potential workers available to work in the borough, including those in the NHS and school, due to the unavailability of low cost housing.

Moving people out of Brent is not new. Back in 2017 research found that Brent was one of the worst councils for forcing people out of London. LINK

This is the Brent Council press release on the scheme:

Homeless people trapped in temporary accommodation for months on end are being urged to ‘find a place you can afford’ by Brent Council.

 

Brent has experienced a 23 percent increase in the number of homelessness applications – up from 6,000 to more than 7,300 – over the past three years. Each week, an average of 140 households are becoming homeless in Brent. Of all homeless households, around half are trapped in very basic and costly ‘temporary’ accommodation.

 

Government data shows that London accounts for 57% of England’s total number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation. Around 175,000 Londoners – equivalent to one in 50 residents of the capital – are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation arranged by their local borough. This figure includes one in 23 children, meaning on average there is at least one homeless child in every London classroom. The homeless emergency is being driven by a perfect storm of rising rents, which have soared by nearly 34% in Brent over the past year, a backlog of people being evicted since the pandemic, reduced supply of private rented housing and cost of living pressures.

 

“The number of homeless families we have in so called ‘temporary’ accommodation has now reached critical levels,” says Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council. “Sadly the reality is children are growing up in temporary accommodation, coming home from school to do their homework on the floor of a shared bathroom of a hostel and eating dinner perched on the side of their bed. This is a human tragedy but it’s not a situation of Brent’s making.

 

“Despite building more new homes than almost any other borough in the capital over the past decade, Brent is one of the places worst affected by London’s homelessness emergency. We just can’t build quickly enough to meet the tsunami of demand.”

 

Unfortunately, the vast majority of residents in temporary accommodation will eventually end up in the private rented sector outside of London due to the sky-high rents in London and lack of affordable housing in the capital. However, some homeless people believe that staying in temporary accommodation increases their chances of securing a council home.

 

“Some people think that becoming homeless increases their chance of a council home, it does not,” continues Cllr Butt. “Right now, there are more than 34,000 families or individuals on our social housing waiting list. Some have been waiting since the last century and they are still waiting. An average of just 650 council homes become available each year, with 40% of them being 1 bed properties, so this queue is moving very slowly and waiting times are getting longer. It is important that the council is honest with people and that homeless households don’t have unrealistic expectations.”

 

Brent overspent it’s budget by over £13m last year and is forecast to overspend by more than £10m this year mainly due to the cost of temporary accommodation such as hostels and bed and breakfasts. Meanwhile London’s councils are spending more than £90million a month on temporary accommodation.

 

Cllr Butt concludes: “As well as the terrible human cost, this homelessness emergency is completely unaffordable for taxpayers. This is why we are launching our ‘Find a place you can afford’ campaign. If you find yourself homelessness, for most people your housing options will be in the private rented sector. Rather than being stuck in temporary accommodation for months on end and still end up in the private rented sector somewhere outside of London, we are advising homeless families to take control of their housing situation and find a place they can afford.

 

“We will be able to help families secure a home financially, ensuring that the rental property is safe and checking that it is affordable in the long-term. We are here to help.”#

Brent launched its Find a place you can afford campaign with a video (above), booklet and webpage with more housing advice.

This is a transcript of the video:

 Did you know Brent is one of the worst affected places in the UK by the housing crisis? One part of the problem is we've got private landlords selling up and leaving the rental market because of rising mortgage costs.

There's been a 41% decline in private rental listings since 2017, combined with a 50% decline in 4 bed properties.

At the same time, there has been a rapid rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness.

In the last three years, we've had a 23% increase in the number of applications from homeless households. And today, it's more than 7,300. That's 140 households becoming homeless, every single week.

This has resulted in over 2,000 households living in temporary accommodation, more than 900 of whom are in emergency B&B accommodation.

This can mean families living in a single room, in cramped accommodation, sharing kitchens and bathrooms with other families for months on end. And because the housing emergency leaves many families competing for the same pool of homes, it often means that we're forced to use accommodation that's outside the capital.

Cramped conditions in temporary accommodation can create, and worsen, health problems and affect the health and well-being of children in particular.

That's how we know that living in temporary accommodation isn't a good long term solution.

Sadly, there's also no guarantee that you'll receive permanent housing in Brent. There are currently 34,000 households on our social housing waiting list. That's nearly 1 in 10 of all Brent residents.

Some families have been on the list since the last century, and only an average of 650 social homes become available each year with 40% of them being one 1 properties.

Even though Brent has been leading the way in building new homes with the second highest number of new builds completed out of all the London boroughs over the past ten years, put simply, supply cannot cope with this surge in demand.

The average wait time for a 2 bed home is more than a decade. For 4 bed properties, the wait is over twenty years.

If you're homeless, your best option is to find a place you can afford in the private rental sector as quickly as possible. Regrettably, most private rental properties in London are becoming unaffordable.

Rather than wait for years in temporary accommodation, we can work with you to find a more cost effective property outside of London where rents remain more affordable. We can help you to secure a rental property in a place that's affordable to you.

If needed, we can financially help you to secure a rental home.

We can talk to your landlord for you and we can support you to move into your new neighborhood.

We know that relocating to a new area may seem daunting. There are school and work moves to think about as well as changes to your commute, but we'll help you to find a place you can afford to end your homelessness.

We'll support you and your family with the option to change location and help to make your move into your new home as easy as possible. We can only make you a one time offer of a home in the private rental sector to end your homelessness.

Sadly, there is a high probability that it will be outside of London due to the lack of affordable housing. With only a small supply of council homes, most routes lead to the private rental sector. So, take control of your housing situation today and work with us to find a home you can afford.