Andy Munns
A report to NFDC’s cabinet (2 November) has asked for additional resources to address the increased demand for the homelessness service for people who live in the district.
The authority has approved an additional £1.3m to supplement existing homelessness budgets and the appointment of two additional homelessness officers.
Since the Covid pandemic, single-person homelessness has remained high, but costs have increased significantly with more families now facing homelessness. NFDC has seen a 23% increase* in households who are or may be facing homelessness, and the use of emergency accommodation has increased by 35%*.
According to government statistics, the use of temporary accommodation is predicted to have risen by 25% across the country. The New Forest has a lower-than-average sized private rented sector, and in recent months, many landlords are selling their properties, converting to holiday lets, or wishing to raise rents beyond the affordability of their current tenants. Homelessness due to the end of a privately rented tenancy is up 118%* across the district.
Cllr Jill Cleary said, “We are now supporting around 40 families from the New Forest in emergency accommodation at any one time. As quickly as we secure housing for one of these families, another, unfortunately, loses their current home. I know my housing officers are doing all they can, and it is the right time to increase the resources we have available. This will ensure we can support our officers to give the time each homelessness case requires, but with that comes additional costs.
“We already have an enhanced and robust action plan in place to continue to meet our statutory duties, to ensure we reduce the use of emergency accommodation over time, to improve access still further to the private rented sector and to provide early intervention wherever possible.”
Richard Knott, service manager for housing options, said, “We’ve introduced a number of additional initiatives to tackle the recent local increase in homelessness, including providing 43 new units of temporary accommodation, with more planned across the district. Plus, we plan to offer a guarantor facility very soon to those households facing difficulty securing new private rented accommodation. We encourage landlords to approach the Council before taking possession action to assess what support we may be able to provide. We are always keen to work with new landlords to accommodate the households we work with, providing support to both landlord and tenant throughout the life of their tenancy.
“We know this is a very stressful and difficult time for many of the households who approach us, but we have trained officers visiting people who are at threat of homelessness to provide early help, support and mediation to keep their current accommodation arrangements where possible.”
“If you are facing homelessness, please use our online form at https://newforest.gov.uk/housing as soon as possible so we can start your assessment and provide you with realistic housing options.
Further information on homelessness can be found at https://newforest.gov.uk/housing
Information and support for the cost-of-living crisis can also be found on the NFDC website https://newforest.gov.uk/costofliving
