barnet housing action
HOUSEHOLDS forced to live in emergency accommodation are on the rise – despite attempts by Barnet Council to slash the number of families in temporary housing by more than 25 per cent. Between the first and second quarter of this financial year, the amount of families placed in emergency housing rose by 1.3 per cent to 638 – with almost two-thirds of those including at least one child aged under 16.
To meet its target, the council needs to cut the number of people living in temporary homes by 27 per cent. A budget report, to be considered by Barnet’s cabinet next week, also revealed that the average time spent by families in emergency accommodation had increased by nearly ten per cent to more than 36 weeks. The cost of placing more households in emergency accommodation for longer, combined with rising private sector rents, means Barnet Homes, which manages the council’s housing stock, has predicted an overspend of £729,000.
Labour councillor Ross Houston said the Conservative administration had failed residents in not building enough council housing and had not put enough pressure on private developers to include more affordable housing in planning applications. “The private rented sector in Barnet is not very affordable,” he told The Press. “We have to find a way of providing and building housing. That means not getting the brush-off from developers. Clearly, we need to be saying to developers, ‘You need to deliver properties that are affordable’.”
Tim Clark, chief executive of Barnet Citizens’ Advice Bureau, agreed that a lack of affordable housing was partly behind increasing numbers approaching the council for help. He said: “We are seeing the high cost of housing plunge many families into debt, and also the gap between private sector rent and housing benefit causing problems in sustaining tenancies – and both of these will contribute to the increase in the number of households being placed in temporary accommodation.”
Mr Clark added that the number of people seeking help with council tax had doubled since the introduction of the new localised system, which requires working age residents to pay 8.5 per cent towards their bill.
But cabinet member for housing Tom Davey said the housing waiting list was under increasing pressure due to residents being priced out of central London boroughs such as Westminster and Camden. He told The Press: “We are yet to experience the stage where people realise that actually Barnet isn’t affordable and make the choice to move further out.” The Hale ward councillor added that forcing housing developers to include affordable rented accommodation in their plans would not solve the problem as companies either abandon projects or push up the cost of their other homes. He said: “It doesn’t make it a better environment. It just means you end up with no housing or very expensive private accommodation.”
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