The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) covering January to March 2023 lay bare the extent of the homelessness crisis in Oldham and across Britain.

In that period, 648 households who asked for help with housing at Oldham Council were assessed and almost all of them – 644 – had a right to help from the Council. 294 households were immediately threatened with homelessness and eligible for the prevention duty. The other 354 households met the criteria for the relief duty.

At the end of March, 380 households were in temporary accommodation. 197 of these households were either single parents or couple with children.

The largest number of households were made homeless from private sector tenancies. Section 21 no fault evictions continue to play a significant part in this – 35 households lost their assured shorthold tenancy because of this.

Many people have additional support needs: the three most significant needs are mental health; physical disability and people at risk of or experiencing domestic violence.

Councillor Elaine Taylor, Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing said “These figures from ONS are shocking. Our ongoing monitoring shows that the situation has only got worse since March.  Oldham Council does its best to provide the best possible temporary accommodation, but it is no substitute for a proper home that meets people’s needs. People are living for too long in temporary accommodation because we don’t have enough socially rented homes for them. I demand immediate action from the Government to stem this crisis. Some of the solutions are obvious. Legislate to end S21 evictions – a Tory manifesto promise but the law reform is stuck in Parliamentary limbo. Raise the Local Housing Allowance level so people’s housing benefit covers rent and makes more properties affordable. Change the rules so Oldham can get subsidy to build homes for social rent. None of this is complicated. The Government needs to deal with the causes of homelessness rather than funding short term, temporary fixes for the results of their negligence.”

BBC data, researched by Rightmove, reveals the North West has the highest demand for private rented homes. Nationally, in 2019 there were 6 applicants for each tenancy. This has risen to an average of 20 in 2023. But in the North West the figures have shot up from 7 to 30 people for each private rented home.

Councillor Taylor added “Oldham Councils’ Housing Options service supports people to look for a new private rented tenancy as an alternative to temporary accommodation. But as these figures show, there is fierce competition and it seems to me there just aren’t enough places available to rent. We need more homes. We are pushing forward with our plans for Oldham Town Centre and want to make sure homes we build can be afforded by Oldham residents. A Labour Government will make it a priority to tackle homelessness but the Tories need to step up while they are still in charge.”