More than 850 people so far this year have had no choice but to approach Cardiff council and tell them that they are facing homelessness. The city council has now revealed the reasons those people gave – which give an insight into the problems with money, relationships and life that lead people to find themselves with no other option.
Some 47 people presented as homeless because of a violent relationship breakdown with a partner while nine found themselves on the street because of arrears on their mortage and seven because of unpaid private sector rent. The most common reasons however were leaving prison, 164 people, and the loss of other rented or tied accommodation, 203 people.
Separate data also shows that a further 596 people have approached the local authority’s homelessness prevention team so far this year to tell them they were at risk of becoming homeless. The most common reason was ‘loss of rented or tied accomodation’ (187). This was followed by relatives or friends no longer willing or able to accommodate (97), a property being unsuitable (85), a parent no longer willing or able to accommodate (80) and getting into rent arrears on private sector accommodation (39).
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The council said it has a good track record of preventing homelessness, with a current success rate of 80%, but it added that some cases cannot be prevented and encouraged anyone threatened with homelessness to get in touch with them as soon as possible for support.
Head of campaigns at Shelter Cymru, Robin White, said: “These figures show the extent of the problem in terms of people presenting as homeless but sadly, for many families, these figures capture only the start of a process during which they may face significant challenges in securing a permanent home, including extended periods trapped in temporary accommodation.” For more Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here.
Mr White added: “The fact that there are high numbers of people from the private rented sector is of no surprise and reflects what we at Shelter Cymru are seeing in our own casework across Wales, with almost half of cases we see coming from this part of the housing sector. In no small part this is because – despite good progress on regulation in recent years – far too many people continue to rely on the private rented sector when it isn’t fit for purpose for them.
“A problem that has been exacerbated in recent years by significant, and ongoing, increases to the cost of renting in Wales.” Cardiff Council’s figures on people presenting as homeless since January 2024 relate to cases where households or individuals present to services when they are already homeless and the council has had no opportunity to work with them to explore options for preventing the homelessness.
More than 800 people have presented as homeless since the beginning of the year
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Mr White added: “Everyone in Wales should have access to a safe, secure, suitable and genuinely affordable home. To make this a reality though we need to take action in the short, medium and long-term including ending no-fault evictions to provide security of tenure, lobbying the Westminster Government to ensure the welfare system is fit for purpose in homelessness prevention and that Local Housing Allowance is set at a level that truly reflects rents, and ultimately an increase in the supply of genuinely affordable social homes without which there is no route to ending the housing emergency we face today in Wales.”
Cardiff, like cities across the UK is currently grappling with a housing crisis that has left the council dealing with a significant demand for homes. Recent figures published by the council show that in the city there are currently 1,028 single people in temporary and emergency accommodation, 122 families living in hotels and 595 families in standard temporary provision.
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “The council has a good track record of preventing households from becoming homeless; the prevention success rate currently stands at 80% where the household has sought support. Our homeless prevention team works with households at risk of becoming homeless to help keep them in their own homes, or to find alternative affordable housing, avoiding the need for them to move into temporary accommodation.
“Unfortunately, some cases cannot be prevented but we encourage anyone threatened with homelessness to get in touch with us as early as possible for the best chance of successfully preventing homelessness.”
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