Dozens of North Lincolnshire households homeless last autumn

Dozens of households became homeless in North Lincolnshire last autumn, new figures show.
File photo dated 25/01/18 of a homeless person outside Victoria Station in London, as new figures suggest that more people are sleeping rough on the streets of England than at any point this decade.File photo dated 25/01/18 of a homeless person outside Victoria Station in London, as new figures suggest that more people are sleeping rough on the streets of England than at any point this decade.
File photo dated 25/01/18 of a homeless person outside Victoria Station in London, as new figures suggest that more people are sleeping rough on the streets of England than at any point this decade.

Dozens of households became homeless in North Lincolnshire last autumn, new figures show.

Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows 26 households in North Lincolnshire were assessed to be homeless between October and December last year.

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However, this was a decrease from the 65 households that were found to be homeless over the same period in 2020.

Of those already understood to be homeless, 33 found accommodation last autumn.

Across England, 33,800 households became homeless in the last three months of 2021 – down from 35,030 over the same period a year before.

Housing charities have blamed a rise in "no-fault" evictions for increasing homelessness in England.

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Despite a recent pledge from the Government to scrap them, landlords are still able to evict tenants through a section 21 notice - which can provide tenants with as little as eight weeks’ notice to leave – sometimes without reason – once the fixed term in their tenancy agreement expires.

Across England, no-fault evictions are up 37% compared to 2019, before the pandemic.

Around 5,260 households were threatened with homelessness as a result of them last autumn – though none were in North Lincolnshire.

Shelter, a charity working to end homelessness, has described no-fault evictions as “blunt, brutal and indiscriminate.”

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Chief executive, Polly Neate, said: “If landlords follow the process, as it stands they can turf people out of their homes for no reason– and tenants are powerless to do anything about it.

"These are real people who’ve been chewed up and spat out by our broken private renting system, and now face an uphill battle to find somewhere to call home again."

Alicia Kennedy, director of the housing campaign group Generation Rent, said a booming property market is to blame for an increase in evictions nationally.

"With house prices and rents surging, landlords have been cashing in by selling up or replacing their tenants with people who can afford to pay more.

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"The cost of this upheaval is falling on the tenants themselves and stretched local authorities.”

She said the Government “must act” to provide a more stable rental market.

According to the same figures, 8,530 households in England were supported by councils last autumn because their landlord was evicting them to sell or re-let the property – including 27 households in North Lincolnshire.

A total of 33,800 households were made homeless over the same period for any reason across England, including 8,410 families with children.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it was bringing forward reforms to help renters, including ending no-fault evictions.