New figures expose dire housing situation across our region

The dire impact of Greater Manchester’s lack of affordable housing has been laid bare, after a new report found a huge rise in families stuck in B&Bs, hostels, and temporary homes across the region.

A total of 5,649 households were living in temporary accommodation in March 2024 according to a report from Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as well as 7,679 children.

The number of people living in temporary housing has shot up by 71 percent in Greater Manchester over the past four years, compared to 26pc in England, the report stated.

Demand for social housing in Greater Manchester outstrips supply by 260 per cent, GMCA said.

In 2022/23, there were 13,551 social lettings in Greater Manchester – half as many as ten years ago.

There were 86,595 households vying for these properties, of which 35,177 were in a priority group for social housing.

And councils in the region are facing eye watering bills to pay for it all, with the ten boroughs already having spent £18.6 million on temporary accommodation between January and March this year.

At this rate, Greater Manchester is due to splash out a combined £75m on temporary housing by the end of this year, with councils only able to recover 42 percent of that from the government through housing benefit subsidy – creating an annual net loss of £43m.

Mayor Andy Burnham warned that the spending figures are “just the tip of the iceberg” of the impact the problem is having across the region.

He said: “Our reliance on temporary accommodation has left thousands of families in a limbo that is blighting their life chances and damaging their health and wellbeing.

“Living in a hostel or B&B makes it harder to cook healthy meals, do homework, hold down a job, see friends and family or visit a doctor when you need to.

“The £75m our councils are spending on these rents is just the tip of the iceberg.

"It doesn’t include the cost of finding that housing, let alone the human toll of living in such an insecure situation.”

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, GMCA’s housing and homelessness lead, said the problem has become an “existential threat” to councils in the region and across the country.

“We are seeing councils up and down the country going bankrupt and temporary accommodation overspend is a significant element of that.

"This should be a huge concern across this country right now and for us in Greater Manchester,” he said.

Mr Dennett added: “In recent years, the lack of social and council housing has massively increased landlords’ bargaining power, leaving our residents struggling to secure a place to call home.

“That market pressure has also made it harder for councils to negotiate rates and secure temporary accommodation.

“Without urgent and radical action, annual financial losses for local authorities will just keep growing, putting further pressure on overstretched budgets, continuing to push councils into bankruptcy.

“There is no quick fix for this housing crisis which has been 40 years in the making.”

The lack of housing across Greater Manchester has been blamed on rising rent prices, loss of social homes through the Right to Buy scheme, and section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

In the last 20 years alone, councils in the region have lost huge amounts of their housing stock, with a total of 24,000 homes lost from Right to Buy in Greater Manchester, according to GMCA.

This has seen councils such as Stockport lose almost half of its social homes since the 1980s, a situation which is piling pressure on the housing market in each borough.

While in Salford, Mr Dennett was forced to declare a housing and homelessness emergency in January, with the council struggling to cope with the growing numbers of people turning up with nowhere to live.

Greater Manchester’s housing situation has left many families without anywhere to call home, having to move in with friends or relatives, or going to their local council to try and get a temporary home.

According to recent research by Shelter, one in every 33 kids in the city is currently without a permanent home, with a study revealing that Manchester had the fourth highest rate of child homelessness in England outside of London.

And for those who are lucky enough to get a temporary house or flat, the problems do not end there.

Many face years of waiting on housing registers, and some are left in dire conditions, placed far away from their families and children’s schools.

A special report by the Local Democracy Reporting Service earlier this month spoke to some of the families in Greater Manchester stuck in temporary housing.

Nick Blake and his family were some of those who were left with nowhere to live in 2022 and forced to move into temporary accommodation.

The family’s plans to move to France in 2021 fell apart due to the pandemic, and Nick and his wife and six children became homeless back in Manchester, having to share a room in a hostel, and hopped around from hotel to hotel for several weeks.

Eventually, they found a four-bedroom house in Moston, but after almost two-and-a-half years, the family of eight is still there.

“The kids are struggling and we’re all stressed,” Nick said.

“It’s impacting all of us. We want to move out, but it’s taking so long.”

The family is on Manchester’s housing register – and they’ve been told they’re likely to be waiting for four years for a suitable property.

Their story is happening in all corners of Greater Manchester, and one that political leaders say needs “urgent” action to address.

At a GMCA meeting about the problem on September 27, council leaders and Mayor Andy Burnham agreed a new plan to try and tackle the issue.

They confirmed the launch of a new ‘Housing First Unit’ to look at what is driving the region’s housing problems, and attempt to tackle it.

The plan includes building a total of 75,000 new homes in the current Parliamentary term, creating more affordable homes and single-occupancy accommodation.

It aims to drive up housing standards to protect renters through the Good Landlord Charter, and act against rogue landlords by giving residents the ability to request a property check followed up by enforcement action where necessary.

GMCA also called for more devolved powers and funding, to prevent homelessness by changing the way residents are supported through education, skills, and health and wellbeing services.

Mr Burnham said: “Our Housing First Unit will work to make sure that everyone in Greater Manchester has a home that is safe, secure and sustainable.

“Giving everyone a good, safe home would be one of the best investments the country could make and would take pressure off other public services and public finances.”

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.