Households accepted as homeless by borough

What does this graph show?

There is significant variation between boroughs. The proportion of households accepted as homeless in Tower Hamlets is 8 times higher than in Merton, Harrow or Camden.

This is a much greater difference than, for instance, in the rate of receipt of out-of-work benefits. The six boroughs with the highest proportion of households accepted as homeless are all in the Inner East & South - Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Lewisham, Haringey, Lambeth and Southwark.

Homelessness acceptances came down in almost every borough between 2007/08 and 2009/10. In a number of boroughs, such as Brent, Islington, Greenwich, Harrow, Newham and Camden, it fell by more than half. There were exceptions such as Hillingdon, Lambeth, Ealing, Croydon and Kensington & Chelsea, which all saw slight increases in homelessness acceptances.

But overall the pattern is hard to discern. Rates of acceptance are determined by local policy as well as local need. Councils aim to prevent households from even applying for homeless status, by offering other types of support and housing options. This was a national policy which reduced the number of homeless applications made right across the country.

Once the application has been made, the variation in acceptance rates is sizeable. For instance, in 2009/10, 71% of applicants in Lewisham were accepted as homeless, compared to 14% in Havering. The reasons for not accepting applications also vary. About 7% of all homelessness decisions in London are defined as "intentional" (see below) . But this varies a lot between boroughs from about 1% to 15% of all decisions.

See also the trends in homelessness acceptances over time.

Additional information

Local authorities have a legal requirement to find suitable housing for some, but not all, households whom they accept as homeless.

To be formally recognised as homeless, the person or household must either lack a 'licence to occupy' a home or it must be unreasonable for them to have to occupy the home they are in.

A household is only entitled to accommodation from their local authority if they are classified as unintentionally homeless and deemed to be in 'priority need' (that is, with dependent children or meeting one of several criteria for 'vulnerability').

The decision as to whether a person became homeless "intentionally" is made by the local authority based on whether the individual or household "did (or did not do) something that caused them to leave the accommodation". This could include failure to
pay rent or mortgage interest, antisocial behaviour or leaving accommodation that it would have been reasonable to stay in.

In practice, being classified as 'homeless' is dependent on the judgement of the particular local authority, and can, as a result, change substantially from one year to the next. Local authorities also have no statutory requirement to house single homeless people (unless deemed 'vulnerable'), which may discourage single people from applying in the first place.

Data used

DCLG 2006 to 2010

Indicator last updated: 30 January 2012