Councils prevent rise in local homelessness despite an increase in demand on services

Eviction by family and friends top reason for home loss in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse

As global attention turns to World Homeless Day, South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse district councils have managed to keep local homeless levels low despite an increase in demand on services.

Whilst national homeless figures rose by 8 per cent in 2023/24, South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse experienced an increased demand on their homeless services this year. There was a 34 per cent rise in homeless assessments carried out in the Vale and a 12 per cent rise in South Oxfordshire.

Despite this, the councils’ continued focus on early homelessness prevention, working closely with every individual at risk of homelessness to help them find sustainable accommodation has yielded high prevention rates.

The number of households in emergency hotel accommodation in South Oxfordshire fell by 18 per cent from last year and in the Vale of White Horse there was no increase from last year:[i]

•     South Oxfordshire: 17 (reduced to 14) households needing emergency hotel accommodation in 2023/24, an overall reduction of 18 per cent since 2022/23

•     Vale of White Horse: 15 households needing emergency hotel accommodation in 2023/24, no increase from 2022/23

Looking at the complex reasons for homelessness, which helps the councils’ housing team plan where to target their work, stats show the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the districts. Eviction by family and friends no longer willing or able to accommodate someone is again the main reason for homelessness this year, accounting for 31 per cent of cases in South Oxfordshire and 28 per cent in the Vale of White Horse.*

Landlords ending a private rented tenancy is the second reason for homelessness in both districts (20 per cent in South Oxfordshire, 25 per cent in Vale), and escaping the threat of domestic abuse is the third highest cause (9 per cent in South Oxfordshire, 10 per cent in Vale).

Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers, Cabinet Member for Housing, South Oxfordshire District Council said: “Whilst the causes of someone becoming homeless are consistently the same over the last year, aligned with what’s happening nationally –  we’ve experienced an increased demand on our homeless services. It’s an ongoing challenge and we continue to do all we can to help people have somewhere they feel safe and secure that they can call home.

“Our housing needs team identifies individuals who are at risk of homelessness and then works closely with them to ensure they can either stay safely in their current home or find appropriate alternative accommodation. As well as continuing our proactive homelessness prevention work, our recent purchase and renovation of properties and close partnership working with registered housing providers all contribute to our plan to meet the current and future housing needs of local people.”

Cllr Sue Caul, Cabinet Member for Housing, Vale of White Horse District Council said: “The large rise this year in demand on our homeless services has added significant pressure. However, our housing team continues to work very effectively to support every individual at risk of homelessness, with hugely encouraging results as the latest figures show.

“Evictions by family or friends we think is a result of the cost-of-living crisis with hosts simply no longer able to afford to accommodate their loved ones and friends. Private landlords pulling out of renting homes is also a real issue in the district, and we’re doing all we can to encourage more landlords to work with us.”

Number of households successfully prevented from becoming homeless in 2023/24:

•     South Oxfordshire: 357 households including 291 children

•     Vale of White Horse: 343 households including 253 children

Percentage of households at risk of homelessness which were successfully prevented from becoming homeless in 2023/24:

•     South East England: 53 per cent

•     South Oxfordshire: 78 per cent

•     Vale of White Horse: 76 per cent

To help support residents at risk of homelessness, the councils recently purchased 45 homes for those in the highest level of housing need in South and Vale. This will help tackle the immediate and urgent need to find homes for people fleeing conflict, and the long-term need to provide members of our local communities with a supply of good quality, genuinely affordable homes.

See our housing delivery strategy and action plan on our website for details on how we are bringing more genuinely affordable, energy efficient homes to the districts.

Anyone in need of help with housing, who is homeless or is at risk of being homeless can call our housing team on 01235 422452.

Our Community Hub can also provide wider support or advice for people, call 01235 422600 or email communitysupport@southandvale.gov.uk

*The top 3 reasons for homelessness in both South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse remain the same in 2023/24 as in 2022/23:

1. Eviction by family or friends no longer willing or able to accommodate people
2. Landlord ends the private rented tenancy
3. Domestic abuse

These same causes are reflected in national homeless figures, but in a different order with landlords ending a tenancy as the top reason, eviction by friends and family as second and domestic abuse as the third most common cause.

ENDS

[1] Number of households in emergency hotel accommodation at the year end.