Home Truths: How long is an emergency? examines routes into and out of emergency accommodation in the Southwest and the private rented market’s influence on homelessness. In our previous blogs we explored how not only is the door is closing on the private rented sector as an exit route from emergency accommodation, but the private rented market is becoming a gateway to homelessness. Presently, for each household that does manage to exit emergency accommodation in the Southwest to a tenancy, two more households enter due to a ‘no fault’ notice of termination from their private rented home.

Along with identifying such private rented pitfalls, our latest Home Truths paper, How long is an emergency? also carries the good news that the Tenant-in-Situ scheme is beginning to have a positive impact. The scheme offers protection to certain renters whose home is to be sold and is proving to be a counterbalance, to some degree, to landlords selling rental properties and households ending up in emergency accommodation.

Its success is notable with the scheme preventing 100 households from entering emergency accommodation here in the Southwest in the first six months of 2024. Without it, the flow of households from private rented accommodation into homelessness would be even greater. It again highlights the link between the private rented sector and homelessness.

The implementation of the ‘Simon Bill’ would further stem the flow from the private rented sector into homelessness. The Simon Bill, or Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (Extension of Notice Periods) Bill 2020 to give it its full title, proposes to change tenancy law so that any person or family at risk of homelessness is provided with a three-month extension to their notice period. Wouldn’t it be encouraging if candidates in the general election campaign demonstrated their support for the Bill?

Greater security of tenure is urgently needed for households in private rented accommodation who can face a ‘no fault’ eviction followed by ‘no alternatives’ but emergency accommodation situation. Greater supply of secure and affordable housing is also urgently needed as an alternative to the declining and failing private rented accommodation route out of emergency accommodation, so as to support people out of homelessness for good.