Local homelessness figures demand eviction ban extension, Cheltenham Lib Dems warn

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Local homelessness figures demand eviction ban extension, Cheltenham Lib Dems warn

Posted by Alisha Lewis | Updated 2020-08-20

Local homelessness figures demand eviction ban extension, Lib Dems warn

The Liberal Democrats in Cheltenham have urged the Government to extend the eviction ban as official figures reveal that 28 Cheltenham families in private rented accommodation were deemed at risk of homelessness.

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Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran and Chair of the All-Party Group on Coronavirus warned that Ministers must act now to “stop a devastating surge in homelessness sweeping across the country as we face a potential second wave.”

According to official statistics, 58 households in Cheltenham are assessed as being threatened with homelessness, with another 102 assessed as homeless from January to March 2020.

30 households who were homeless or threatened with homelessness cited the end of a private rented tenancy as the reason for losing their last settled home.

The figures also revealed that 7 households in Cheltenham were rough sleeping in January to March 2020.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson Max Wilkinson for Cheltenham said:

"We all know that housing is one of the big problems facing our town and the economic fallout from the pandemic has brought this into sharp focus.

“Locally we are working really hard, but clearly the government needs to step in so our most vulnerable friends, neighbours and colleagues do not suffer.

“The extension to the eviction ban must happen now to reassure people that they are secure, have a roof over their heads and that they won’t end up on the streets.”

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said:

“Thousands of families in the private rented sector were already being threatened with homelessness earlier this year, now they face losing their homes in the middle of a pandemic.

“Ministers must act now to stop a devastating surge in homelessness sweeping across the country as we face a potential second wave.

“The sharp rise in rough sleeping also shows why criminalising rough sleeping through the Vagrancy Act must end. Instead, Ministers should protect emergency funding for local councils to permanently accommodate rough sleepers."

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