So much at stake. If you’re threatened with homelessness you must be constantly available. With the clock ticking it can be hard to sort out the rights of all parties. Even a short time “off the air” can be fatal. Recently we’ve seen several people risk losing their homes because they were out of contact […]
Stating the obvious. Dealing with visible policy failure isn’t enough to end homelessness. An obvious but still necessary message from Dr Paul Watts of Birkbeck, University of London on the letters page of today’s Guardian*. Yes, he says, it’s essential to fix the visible problem of rough sleeping. But no less essential to cut the hidden […]
Select Committee Report. Recognise the hidden homeless. More houses for affordable rent. Focus on the duties of local authorities. Some of the recommendations of the communities and local government select committee Homelessness Report published today. At Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead we support the MPs’ measured but urgent call for action. Homelessness actual or threatened […]
No longer enough. Housing has always been a common problem for clients at Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead. This summer in our Redhill office it’s the most common. Our job is to help with the immediate difficulty but also to advise on policy change. For example by supporting the Citizens Advice campaign to reform private rentals. We highlight local housing problems […]
But not all good. Latest from Nationwide Building Society: annual UK house price inflation was up 5.7% in March. In London 11.5%. But wait. In Surrey (part of the Outer Metropolitan Area) prices were up 12.2%. No wonder housing problems brought to Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead were up 15% in the past year. The impact on […]
‘Everything else falls apart’. The number grows each quarter. Everyday 170 UK families have to leave their homes. Two stats from ‘Eviction’, a cool radio analysis of the meaning of homelessness in Britain and the US today*. Also chilling. Attitudes to eviction it seems are becoming more matter-of-fact (worse in America but we’re going their way.) At Citizens […]
Halting the increase. “There but for fortune go you or I”. An old protest song. But even half a heart makes the connection to homelessness in 2016. It’s growing and more people are noticing. Social media are reflecting the anxiety. Housing charities are turning up the volume. Last weekend some of our councillors spent a night […]
Unmet demand is increasing community stress. Housing has always been one of the biggest issues for clients at Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead. In the past year problems brought to us have gone up by more than 15% on 2014. The main cause is that the number of homes available to people on low or middle […]
Reigate & Banstead is seeing an increase in extreme poverty some people will find surprising. In January we have reported: significant growth in street homeless on average 15 clients a week needing access to a food bank highest number of clients needing emergency assistance. Policymakers are on the case. The Welfare Reform Bill before parliament is […]