Councils claim one-in-50 Londoners are now homeless

The rising cost of living - especially housing - remains the top issue on Londoners’ minds for the second year in a row, according to the annual Survey of Londoners.

Commissioned by the umbrella body called London Councils and conducted by Ipsos, this year’s survey claims that one-in-50 Londoners, including one-in-23 children, are now homeless and living in temporary accommodation. That’s 170,000 people in total.

Some 71 per cent of respondents say their rent or mortgage payment has increased in the last 12 months, with 34 per cent saying it has “increased a lot”.

Rent and mortgage cost increases are widespread, experienced by similar proportions of renters and homeowners, people in work and not in work, people who recently moved to London or have lived here all their lives, and those with and without children.

Around  three in 10 say they are finding it difficult to manage financially this year, up five percentage points from last year. Women, renters and people from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be in this group, the umbrella body claims.

London Councils is urging national government to give London boroughs the powers and funding needed to help address these challenges in today’s Autumn Statement.

The body says London’s 33 borough councils work to prevent their residents from becoming homeless, for example by mediating with landlords to avoid an eviction, and provide emergency accommodation to the most vulnerable households where that is not possible. These ouncils also administer the Households Support Fund.

However due to a claimed £600m funding gap in London borough budgets collectively, a severe lack of affordable housing across the city and the growing numbers of people in urgent need of support, boroughs are also under unprecedented pressure.

Councillor Claire Holland, acting chair of London Councils, says: “Our research shows that the majority of Londoners have little room to breathe financially, largely due to soaring housing costs. It is striking that London’s housing affordability crisis is now affecting all sectors of society.

“On top of this, one in 50 Londoners is homeless and living in temporary accommodation. This figure includes 1 in 23 children – one in every classroom.

“In the face of this serious challenge for our city, which has only intensified following the pandemic and the economic shock of last Autumn, London boroughs are providing a vital safety net for our most vulnerable residents. But given the scale of the problem, fundamental change is needed to ensure Londoners have the homes and financial resilience needed to thrive.”

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