Shelter report: In Work but Out of a Home

‘Over half of homeless families in England are in work.’

Shelter’s July 2018 report on homelessness and employment finds that the majority of families in temporary accommodation are working.

Key findings include:

  • The proportion of families working whilst living in temporary accommodation has increased from 44% in 2013 to 55% in 2017.
  • The number of working homeless families has increased from over 19,000 in 2013 to over 33,000 in 2017.

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.

Recommendations include:

  • The government needs to build thousands more homes that are truly affordable and stable for families on low and average incomes, including social homes.
  • A stronger safety net is needed, such as bringing the level of housing benefit in line with local rents.

Shelter concludes:

With so many families in work but out of a home, it’s clear that our current housing and benefit system does not adequately support all hard-working families.

Read the report in full.

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