Almost 70,000 households in England were homeless or threatened with homelessness between July and September 2020

In addition, new statistics reveal that more than 90,000 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 September 2020

Almost 70,000 households in England were homeless or threatened with homelessness between July and September 2020, according to new statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

In Statutory homelessness in England: July to September 2020, the MHCLG reports on homelessness assessments and activities in England during the third quarter of 2020, finding that -

• 68,680 households were initially assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness and owed a statutory homelessness duty, down 7 per cent on the corresponding quarter in 2019; and
• 31,510 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness, and therefore owed a prevention duty, down 16.9 per cent from the same quarter last year.

The figures also show that, on 30 September 2020, the number of households in temporary accommodation was 93,490, up 7 per cent on the same day in 2019.

Noting that the statistics cover the second three-month period of Covid-19, the MHCLG observes that the changes can be linked to the government and local authority response to the pandemic, including -

• households accommodated under the ‘Everyone In’ campaign, whereby local authorities were asked to provide emergency accommodation to rough sleepers, people who were living in shelters with shared sleeping arrangements, and those at risk of rough sleeping; and
• the restriction on private rented sector evictions, and lengthened notice periods for landlords.

For more information, see Statutory homelessness in England: July to September 2020 from gov.uk