Find a place you can afford
A guide to get through your homeless emergency
London is at the centre of the Britain’s
homelessness emergency
and, despite building more new homes than almost any other borough in the capital over the past decade, Brent is one of the places worst affected.
Why has the housing crisis turned into a homelessness emergency?
Private landlords are leaving the rental market because of things like rising mortgage costs.
At the same time, the number of people becoming homeless has been spiralling out of control.
Temporary accommodation nightmare
This has resulted in more than two thousand individuals and families living in ‘temporary’ accommodation. Around 1,000 of these households are in emergency B&B accommodation.
This can mean families living in a single room, in cramped accommodation sharing kitchens and bathrooms with other people for months on end. And because the housing emergency affects all the London councils, this often means that we are forced to use temporary accommodation that’s outside of London.
Being homeless doesn’t lead to a council home
Right now, there are more than 34,000 households sat on our social housing waiting list in Brent. Some families have been on the list since the last century. An average of just 650 social homes become available each year, with 40% of them being one bed properties, so this queue is moving very slowly and waiting times are getting longer.
5,662
Joining the queue every year
34,000 people already in the queue
650 leaving the queue every year
The average waiting time for a family home is more than 10 years and the larger the property you need, the longer the wait will be. For four bed properties, you’re looking at a wait of over 20 years.
Some families have been waiting since the last Millenium and still have a long wait left. In short, being homeless does not mean that you will get permanent council housing in Brent.
Average waiting time for a family home is more than 10 years
Average waiting time for a four bed home is more than 20 years
Why can’t we just build more homes?
Even though Brent has been leading the way in building new homes with the second highest number of new builds completed out of all the London boroughs over the past 10 years, we just can’t build quickly enough to meet the huge surge in demand. It’s just not possible for us to build our way out of this emergency.
If you are homeless, you now have two choices to find your next home:
The
best route
End your homelessness emergency by taking control of your situation and finding a place you can afford. Visit www.brent.gov.uk/ findaplace for support.
Brent Council will:
n Check that the property is affordable for you long-term
n Financially help you to secure the rental home
n Talk with the landlord on your behalf
What should I do if I’m at risk of homelessness?
If you are worried about becoming homeless, please talk to us early before you become homeless. We will try to help you find a solution to stay in your current home. This is your best option.
If you are at risk of homelessness, the first thing to realise is that becoming homeless will not help you secure a council home. Given the number of people already in the queue waiting for a council home, for the vast majority of homeless people your next home will be in the private rented sector. The only choice is the route you take to get there. Becoming homeless is an emergency and is something you need to try to avoid at all costs.
Have you just become homeless?
If staying in your current home is not possible and you have just become homeless, your best option is to find a suitable rental home yourself in a place you can afford. Given the now sky-high rents in London, it is difficult for anyone, including the council, to find affordable accommodation in Brent.
n Ensure that the property is safe and suitable for your needs.
We know that relocating to a new area may feel scary. There are school and work moves to think about as well as changes to your commute.
But it will make your life easier if you can be as flexible as possible about the areas that you’d be happy to live in. This way we can help you to end your homelessness more quickly.
Option 2
Spend a long wait in temporary accommodation, usually in a hostel or B&B sharing bathroom and kitchen facilities with other families. If you do choose to rely on the council to find you a place, we’ll make you one offer of a home in the private rented sector to end your homelessness. This is still highly likely to be outside of London due to the lack of affordable housing here.
This homelessness emergency is regrettable and is not of Brent Council’s making but for the vast majority of homeless people, the reality is that all routes lead to the private rented sector.
Take control of your housing situation yourself today and find a place you can afford.
Both options lead to a private rented home
Visit www.brent.gov. uk/findaplace