THERE has been a sharp rise in the number of people at risk of homelessness in Reading, and a leading charity says things will get worse before they get better.
Launchpad, based in Merchants Place, says it has seen a 42% increase in people visiting its drop-in service on a year-on-year basis – many of whom the charity has never helped before, and never expected to have to ask for support.
Last year, it helped more than 1,400 people.
And Reading Borough Council is expecting a £3.8 million overspend in the current financial year, with £1 million of that due to an increase in the number of people, including families, who have told the local authority they are homeless.
A council spokesperson told Reading Today there has been a 25% rise in the number of homeless residents in the borough.
Responding to the figures during a policy committee meeting held last week, Cllr Rob White (Green, Park), the leader of the opposition, said: “As we all know, behind the money there are people and families that are in real tough situations”.
And, he added, the escalating costs of providing homelessness support “eye-watering”. Councillors approved investing £36.4 million in the council’s housing revenues account (HRA) for this financial year. This receives income from rent, with money being spent on managing council houses.
The council spokesperson confirmed the increase in expenditure and said they expected the situation to worsen.
“Reading Borough Council has seen year-on-year increases in homelessness approaches, with the most significant being from 2021/22 to 2022/23 which saw a 25% rise from 1,539 to 1,930.
“Residents that approach the Council are telling us that this is due to the cost of living, rising rent levels and reduced number of homes in Reading. We also know that the expedited asylum decisions too are causing more residents to approach us for accommodation.
“It is anticipated that homelessness approaches will continue to rise locally and nationally into 2024/25 and potentially 2025/26 as a result of current pressures, continued increase in expedited asylum decisions and an increase in mortgage arrears which are at the highest level since 2016. This inevitably creates budget pressures, but ensuring that people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness are accommodated is both a statutory requirement and a key part of the Council’s ethos to produce and protect thriving communities.”
They added: “We are currently investigating the best way to ensure this provision continues to be met without affecting existing services.
“The ongoing pressures will be considered whole piece as part of the usual annual budget decision making process and the Council will continue to support those most in need, including those at risk of or presenting as homelessness.”
Kirsti Wilson, head of fundraising and marketing for Launchpad, agreed that the cost-of-living crisis was impacting Reading residents, and said Launchpad was available to help.
“The ongoing cost-of-living and the rising cost of renting in Reading is creating a perfect storm – some people simply cannot make the ends meet,” she told Reading Today.
“These are the main reasons we are seeing more people, but there are other factors.
“Despite a long-standing promise from the Government to scrap them, people are still being evicted through no fault evictions, known as a section 21 notices. If a renter receives one of these, they only have two months to find a new home.
“That’s a stressful situation for any family and we’ve seen an increase in landlords using this type of eviction in recent months.”
Ms Wilson said they were expecting the problem to get worse because of the increased costs people are facing.
“It looks like high inflation and high utility bills are here to stay. We expect this to make things more challenging for more people for some time to come,” she said.
“We have seen a 42% increase in people using our drop-in service year on year. Our drop-in service is our first point of contact with people who are at risk of or have become homeless. As well as an increase in numbers we are seeing lots of people for the first time – people who never expected to need help from a homelessness charity.”
Launchpad’s aims include ensuring every Reading resident has their own home, which is decent accommodation. It aims to provide high quality support to those it helps, and it urges people facing housing problems to get in touch.
“Our advice for anyone who is struggling, is to see us as soon as possible,” Ms Wilson said. “The sooner someone reaches out the better.
“Depending on circumstances we may be able to take preventative action to stop people being evicted, or to minimise the impact of what might look like an impossible situation. Even if the worst outcome does happen, we can support people, making sure they are aware of all the available options.”
The charity is calling on the government to make the Renters Reform Bill become law, banning no-fault evictions and stop landlords from excluding families with children or people receiving benefits from their properties.
They also want to see more affordable housing being built, pointing out that a recent Zoopla survey showed that average rental prices in Reading had increased by 11.5% year on year.
“We have been fortunate to be able to buy two new properties that will mean we will be able to offer 11 more people a low-cost home, but with more funds we could do so much more,” Ms Wilson said.
For more details, to apply for support or to make a donation towards its work, log on to: launchpadreading.org.uk, or call: 0118 950 7656.
Additional reporting: James Aldridge, local democracy reporter
