More Londoners squeezed out of private rental housing
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012Councils in London are being forced to place more people in emergency accommodation as tenants are squeezed out of private rented sector housing.
According to a snap survey of London boroughs by Inside Housing magazine, 15 boroughs have so far placed 6,322 households in emergency accommodation – usually bed and breakfasts or hostels – in 2011/12, compared with 7,461 in the whole of the previous financial year.
Caps on Local Housing Allowance for private tenants have been cited by councils as reasons for the increase.
The survey also revealed that councils are increasingly placing people outside their borough – and some outside London.
Councils have placed 2,108 households outside their borough in 2011/12, almost equalling the 2,230 figure for the whole of the previous year.
