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Matt Harrison, Interim Chief Executive of Homeless Link, responds to Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Housing options and solutions for young people in 2020 report, released yesterday (Wednesday 13 June).

“This report highlights the difficulties that many young people will face in the coming years in securing and living in affordable decent housing. We are especially concerned about the impact on young homeless people. We know from our members that more and more young people are seeking help with homelessness, and our research has shown that the main cause is a breakdown in their relationships with family and friends.

“This means that living in the family home is often not an option for them. However the report shows that access to social housing will be much reduced in the future for young homeless people. They will face increased competition for private rented accommodation, and when combined with changes to housing benefit and increases in rent there is a real risk that if we don’t act now, we face a future of more young people living in transient accommodation with no real place to call home or with no home at all.”

“As this report shows, rising youth unemployment and the economic recession mean this situation will only continue to get worse. We are urging the Government to intervene to make the private rented sector more accessible to young people and to look at new ways in which we can ensure decent housing for young homeless people.”