By Sascha O'Sullivan
[Re: Housing Associations have no accountability and a 2-year-old has paid the price, Nov 23]
In London the homelessness total stands at 56,500 currently, with 75 per cent of this number families with young children. Over the next 12 months thanks to the rising cost of living and the falling number of available and fit-for-purpose temporary accommodation, this figure is expected to almost double to over 100,000.
In addition, some 2.8m people live in substandard temporary accommodation across the UK. By definition, substandard can mean cold and draughty, faulty utilities/leaks or it could mean hazardous, the latter being widely discussed in the current news agenda.
We need to reach more of the nation’s homeless and quicker than ever before. We also need to invest in upgrading homes to a liveable standard.
The only way to reach people and properties fast is for the private sector to intervene in the meantime.
Each developer, investor and landlord up and down the country needs to think about how they can help, whether this means upgrading one property at a time or funding the repairs for 100. We must all do our bit and partnerships with public sector bodies seems a good place to start.
Public-private partnerships can play a massive part in this. For example, Capital Letters is a London focussed not-for-profit matching people with adequate housing. With the right technology, provided by the private sector, they have freed up resources to focus on that mission – getting roofs over people’s heads.
Steven Rae
Evo Property Management
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