Councils handing landlords hefty incentives to accommodate the homeless

Metro Loud
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Native councils have spent over £31 million on incentives to landlords offering their properties for the homeless.

That is cash handed to landlords they obtain on prime of housing profit.

Manchester Metropolis Council alone has spent £3.35 million, adopted by Enfield Council (£2.73m) and Ealing Council (£2.26m).

The analysis was carried out based mostly on Freedom of Data requests from tenant marketing campaign group Technology Lease, which argued that councils are giving non-public landlords an excessive amount of to accommodate susceptible folks.

Ben Twomey, chief govt at Technology Lease, stated: “Everybody wants a house, it’s the muse of our lives. However the rental market is just like the wild west.

“Landlords are sometimes a regulation unto themselves, rigging the system to line their very own pockets on the expense of individuals experiencing homelessness and the native councils which can be attempting to accommodate them.

“The hovering price of renting and the federal government’s resolution to freeze the Native Housing Allowance has put councils throughout the nation in a close to unimaginable place.

“In a determined bid to keep away from putting folks in momentary lodging, they’re compelled to pay particular person landlords generally tens of hundreds of kilos only for them to comply with hire out their residence. It’s a mindless waste of our public cash.”

The Freedom of Data requests focused all 32 London councils, along with 10 outdoors recognized for having homelessness points.

In London, the 27 councils that responded spent over £24 million on landlord incentives in 24/25. That is a mean spend of over £900,000 per council.

The final time information on landlord incentives was collected within the capital was 2018. In comparison with 2018, the general cash spent by councils in London elevated by over £8.5million (54%).

Southwark Council made the best particular person cost to a landlord, at £15,400, adopted by Camden Council (£13,500) and Hammersmith and Fulham Council (£13,000).

Twomey added: “The federal government’s housebuilding targets are welcome, however these findings present pressing motion is required to deal with the widening lack of reasonably priced properties.

“The Chancellor should unfreeze Native Housing Allowance within the upcoming Autumn Finances to present renters claiming advantages reduction from towering family prices.

“In the meantime, the federal government additionally should give Metro Mayors the facility to restrict hire will increase by means of the upcoming Devolution Invoice, permitting them to slam the brakes on sky-high rents in cities throughout England.”

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