In the Spotlight

The English Housing Survey was released today and one statistic that jumped out at me was the apparent decline in private sector accommodation.

Even Savills were bemused, as Lucian Cook, Director of Residential Research, tweeted:

Lucian Cook‏ @LucianCook 3h3 hours ago

English Housing Survey out today - the data on households by tenure shows some "surprising" results...


Combine that with the news that there has been a significant increase in rough sleeping ...

Figures released today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have revealed that the total number of people counted or estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England in Autumn 2018 was 4,677 - down two per cent compared with 2017 but up 165 per cent since 2010.

Chartered Institute of Housing deputy chief executive Gavin Smart said:

“It is frankly unacceptable that thousands of people are being forced to sleep on our streets – and the fact that this number has soared by 165 per cent since 2010 should shame us all.

"These statistics are a stark reminder of the suffering at the very sharpest end of our national housing crisis. And we must remember that they are partly based on estimates, so the true figure could be even higher.

"We must take action now. The government’s rough sleeping strategy rightly recognises this and aims to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027 – this is achievable, but only with the right level of investment and all of us pulling out all the stops to end homelessness.

"We believe that a chronic shortage of affordable homes combined with the welfare reforms introduced since 2012 has created a toxic mix. To truly get to the root of the problem, the government must invest in more genuinely affordable housing as well as reviewing the impact of welfare reforms like the benefit cap, universal credit and the housing benefit freeze for private renters."

Homeless Link's Chief Executive, Rick Henderson, commented: 

“Thousands of people are sleeping outside on our streets every night, and it is a shameful situation that so many are having to live like this in our country today, without a place to call home. Sleeping rough is extremely dangerous and detrimental to health – it has no place in our society and it reflects wider systems  failure.

“This is the first year since 2010 that we haven’t seen an increase in rough sleeping. Through the recent Rough Sleeping Strategy, there has been some targeted action with investment into outreach services and the homelessness sector, and we hope this shows that with investment and political will we can start to stem the tide. However, the situation would be far worse without the work being undertaken by our members, local homelessness services, many of whom are struggling as cuts continue to affect their ability to deliver these vital services.

“This is barely scratching the surface of what needs to be done. To reach a zero sum by 2027, there must be a sustained cross-Government approach to tackling the structural causes of homelessness. We must fix our broken welfare system, tackle the poverty that so many people are living in, build more genuinely affordable homes, and work back from years of under investment in critical support services – our health and mental health services, drug and alcohol services, domestic violence services, and a challenged criminal justice system. Only then will we truly end rough sleeping for good.”

Hopefully the politicians will stop looking at the jigsaw puzzle pieces and start looking at the picture on the box!

Other insights from the Survey suggest that costs are down and standards are up in the PRS:

The proportion of income spent by private tenants on rents has fallen over the past decade according to new official figures.

The English Housing Survey for 2017/18, published today, shows that the proportion of income spent on private rents was 32.9 per cent, down from 34.3 per cent in the previous year, and from 36.4 percent in 2014/15.

With Ministers considering how to increase the number of longer tenancies in the sector, the survey found that the average length of time a private sector tenant had lived in their current home was up from 3.9 years in 2016/17 to 4.1 years in 2017/18.

The Government’s new Private Landlord Survey for 2018, also published today, reports that 70 per cent of landlords kept their rents the same when they most recently renewed a tenancy showing that landlords prioritise keeping good tenants for a long term.

Evidence of improved standards for tenants come from the English Housing Survey showing that the proportion of private rented homes with the most serious hazards in them has fallen considerable in the last decade. In 2017 14 per cent of rented homes had a Category 1 hazard, down from 31 per cent in 2008.

Whilst the RLA will continue to do all it can to ensure no rented property contains a serious hazard, the picture remains one of considerable improvement.

John Stewart, Policy Manager for the Residential Landlords Association said:

“What emerges from the wealth of data out today is a picture of continuing improvement in affordability, security and standards for private tenants.

“The figures also debunk the myth that landlords are always increasing rents unreasonably and looking for every opportunity to evict a tenant.

“We recognise that whilst this data confirms that the vast majority of landlords enjoy good relationships with their tenants and want them to stay on long term, there are still too many unscrupulous landlords who bring the sector into disrepute and they should be driven out of the market.” 

SEE ALSO  -         Number of private landlords in decline

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