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More than half of temporary accommodation residents in work, Shelter reveals
More than half of families living in temporary accommodation are in work and there has been a 73% increase in the number of working homeless families since 2013, research by Shelter has found.
The charity said that 55% of families living in temporary accommodation were working in 2017, equivalent to 33,000 families.
In 2013, only 19,000 families were in this situation, 44% of the total.
It said this showed that moving more people into work would therefore not solve homelessness.
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Shelter said: “This trend is due to a combination of high private rents, the on-going freeze on housing benefit and a chronic lack of social homes.
“The government needs to build thousands more homes that are truly affordable and stable for families on low and average incomes, including social homes.
“We also need a stronger safety net that is fit for purpose, such as bringing the level of housing benefit in line with local rents”.
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Cuts to council budgets and housing benefits made it hard for local authorities to find settled homes for families, leaving them in temporary accommodation for longer periods that used to be normal.
Shelter said the loss of a private tenancy was the single biggest cause of homelessness last year and that its research had found that by 2020, 83% of England would be unaffordable to private tenants claiming housing benefit.
The report showed notable regional variations, with the proportion of homeless families in work ranging from 60% in London to only 9% in Yorkshire and the Humber.
There were 26,346 homeless families in work in London but only 15 in the North East of England, the only region where the total decreased between 2013 and 2017.