Agenda item

The Director of housing submits a report providing an update on homeless in the City for 2024/25 and progress in relation to Leicester’s Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy.

The Director of Housing submitted a report providing an update on homeless in the City for 2024/25 and progress in relation to Leicester’s Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy.

Key points included:

• The Director of Housing introduced the Head of the Homelessness Prevention to present the report.
• It was stated that for the financial year 2024/2025 there was an increase of 9% in people contacting the homelessness team compared to the previous year. The number one cause of homelessness was the end of private rented tenancies, due to no fault evictions with the landlords leaving the rental market. The second highest reason was individuals being asked to leave family accommodation. 
• In 2024 there was a verified count of 61 rough sleepers up from 26 in 2023 which was a 135% increase. A further count has been carried out in 2025, and it was advised that the data will be published in due course.
• In July 2025, 600 families were in temporary accommodation, with 12 families in Bed & Breakfast (B&B) accommodation for more than 6 weeks, compared to 188 in B&B in July 2024 which is a 93% reduction. In July 2025, there were 76 households in B&B’s regardless of length of time spent there compared to 262 in July 2024 which is a 71% reduction. There were also 415 single households in temporary accommodation in 2025 compared to 552 in 2024 and 88 were in B&Bs compared to 159 in 2024. The report highlighted that homelessness is an issue nationally and not just an isolated issue in Leicester.
• The average wait time for families in temporary accommodation was over 5 and a half months on average. The average wait time in 2025 for a 1-bed property was 7 months for high priority households, a 2-bed was 18 months wait, and a 3-bed property was 2 years.
• Changes to the area in response to the pressures were highlighted. The number of homelessness prevention officers had increased from 13 to 30 to help with demand. Formal training on homelessness support has also been delivered to staff using external consultants and a new domestic violence support coordinator has been appointed. A single point of contact for planned prison releases had been created and support for members of the public, who were discharged from hospital into a homeless setting has been developed. Self-contained, Council owned, temporary accommodation was now being used so there is less use of B&Bs.
• The partnership with voluntary groups was detailed. The voluntary groups helped to arrange meals, furnishing and white goods for homeless residents as well as helping to achieve more permanent accommodation from other sources. A forum has been developed with one voluntary group who were offering children’s activities in addition to advice and practical support.

In discussions with Members, the following was noted:

• In response to a query about the reduction in B&B usage and the possibility of further reduction, it was stressed that officers looked daily for better accommodation alternatives for families in B&Bs and if something became available, they arranged to move families as soon as possible. It was commented that the use of in-house, Council owned temporary accommodation had been very beneficial towards this. It was further stated that through the preventative work and the use of Council accommodation, there would be a future where B&Bs are not used.
• It was highlighted that even though the Homelessness Team are well above the national average for the prevention levels achieved. The demand on the service has been increasing year on year. Currently, there were between 15-20 families a month becoming homeless in Leicester. Last year, Housing had approached Full Council to request £45 Million Pounds to help resolve the B&B issue. The money was granted and helped in providing more suitable accommodation to B&Bs. Due to the increase in demand again this year, the Housing department are planning to request a similar figure at Full Council again. This was to provide more capacity for temporary accommodation and to prevent there being any fall back on the progress made in reducing B&B usage. 
• Further support was given to the future request at Full Council for more funding to the service. It was highlighted how this would save money for the Council by reducing B&B usage and would positively impact the budget. The overall budget was explored and its was shown that due to the investments made last year, the budget for this year was £23 Million instead of the projected £60 Million.
• It was highlighted that there was currently a former Premier Inn site in Oadby and the possibility of it being purchased and utilised was raised. In response, it was advised that the Council was wanting to move away from temporary hotel/B&B accommodation to a more homely alternative with better facilities.
• Comments were made about the Renters Rights Bill and what sort of impact it will have on the homelessness issue. In the long term, it was argued that it would be a positive for the service as it will stop no fault evictions. However, in the short term it had created some additional strain as landlords were pushing through evictions now so they can sell up before the bill passes.   
• The topic of rough sleepers was raised and what help was being offered to them over the winter period. In response, it was explained that there were Council outreach teams who identified rough sleepers and advised them of the help available, so they would know they did not have to sleep rough. The Council also worked with charities who assisted as there were some rough sleepers who did not want to engage with authorities. There had recently been some extra funding from central government to help support rough sleepers over the winter and help prevent rough sleeping.  
• Details were revealed about the new One Hub project at the Dawn Centre that is due to be rolled out in Spring 2026, this would be a multi-agency approach to help the homeless. Various Council teams, Mental Health, Inclusion, Healthcare and the Department for Work and Pensions would all have representatives at the hub. This had the aim of providing a multi layered support system to individuals and families who were homeless and to prevent rough sleeping.    

AGREED:

1)    That the presentation be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.