Hostel evictions could be prevented
More could be done to prevent unnecessary evictions from homelessness hostels in London, a study has found.
The report for umbrella group Homeless Link found there has been some improvement but ‘evictions and abandonment are still taking place that could be prevented’.
It notes: ‘The level of abandonment has halved whilst evictions have remained constant. Clients are twice as likely to have an eviction for behaviour than arrears.’
Homeless Link looked into what happens to people evicted from London hostels or who abandon them for a variety of reasons.
It commissioned data from CHAIN – a database holding homeless and rough sleeping information – and found 48 per cent of those evicted from hostels and 47 per cent who disappeared from the service were then seen rough sleeping.
The study also notes it is those with the highest level of support needs – with drug, alcohol or mental health issues – who tend to be evicted.
Sixty per cent of evictees and the same percentage of abandoners had alcohol problems, 60 per cent of evictees and half of abandoners had a drug related issue and 40 per cent of evictees and one in three abandoners had mental health problems.
Researchers looked at what had already been written about evictions and abandonment of hostels and spoke to 54 staff and 64 clients in London centres. The Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York gave advice on the research, funded by international philanthropy organisation the Oak Foundation.
Lisa Reed, Homeless Link’s head of innovation and good practice, said: ‘The most successful [hostels] had an overall ethos where they wanted to prevent evictions and wanted to stop abandonments.
‘Places that had an interest in learning about people’s behaviour [and said] “let’s talk it through”.’
The report found levels of eviction varied across the hostels with some having no evictions for arrears over the last two years, but in others this was the main cause for someone leaving and not moving on to accommodation.
People who abandoned hostels were often in arrears, wanted to escape debt or being taken into custody. Long-term rough sleepers repeatedly left hostels.
Recommendations include government offices focusing on the role local authorities have to play in reducing evictions and abandonments and hostel managers putting in place policies to eliminate all evictions and abandonments.
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