Housing Solicitors

A local youth homelessness charity in Oxfordshire has reported higher levels of homelessness among young adults in the year to April 2013.

Banbury Young Homelessness Project (BYHP) runs a number of services for homeless young adults in the Oxford area, including family mediation services.

The organisation said that up to April 2013, it had supported 886 young adults, including 120 youngsters who were homeless and 766 who were offered prevention services such as family mediation.

In the last six months from April the charity has been involved in an additional 500 cases compared with the same time last year.

The BYHP said that most referrals to the charity are by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, schools in the Banbury area and social services. The charity added that changes to the benefits system had impacted on young adults trying to find a place to live, placing the BYHP services under more strain – especially regarding homeless young adults with learning difficulties.

Chief executive Anna Day said:
“The increase in demand comes at a time when funding is increasingly tight – and crisis projects are often seen as preferential investments, rather than projects that prevent young people becoming homeless in the first place.
“There is still sometimes the expectation that 16 is the age of the end of parental responsibility, so we spend a lot of time working with parents to help them understand they need to be supporting their young people until they are financially capable of moving away from home,” Ms Day added.

Banbury is not the only region of the UK where youth homelessness is becoming a major issue. In 2011, when government cuts began to take effect, a report by Sky News found more homelessness charities and local authorities reporting a significant rise in the number of young adults seeking help for homelessness.

Research carried out by Homelessness Link also found 44% of homelessness services and 48% of local authorities reported an increase in the numbers of young adults asking for help.

A total of 62% of young homeless adults seen by charities were not in training, work or education and around 50% of those were already in debt.

The run up to Christmas is often a period of high stress for young adults with issues at home. Some young adults who make their way to large cities in the hope they will find hostel places end up sleeping rough. Rough sleepers may have limited access to benefits if they have recently moved into an area – and homeless people cannot usually secure a job until they have proof of a permanent address.

Most hostels also charge a small nightly fee for accommodation and breakfast, making some means of support essential.

However, many local councils offer a helpline for local people to report rough sleepers – and hostels and shelters can also offer homeless people advice on benefits and finding more permanent accommodation or temporary shelter.

Legal advice on housing and housing benefits

Duncan Lewis solicitors offer a full range of housing advice to tenants in the private sector or Local Authority accommodation, as well as landlords and those seeking legal advice about housing applications, housing benefits, mortgage repossessions, debt or illegal eviction.

For housing advice contact Duncan Lewis solicitors on 020 7923 4020.