Causes of Homelessness in the UK

Many people assume that homelessness is all about people begging and sleeping on the streets. While that is an obvious form of homelessness, there are undoubtedly many people in the UK who are homeless but not on the streets. Homelessness is all about lacking a permanent residence. For some people, this could mean opting for temporary solutions such as staying in dorms or hostels or seeking accommodation from friends. Some of the significant causes of homelessness in the UK are as follows.

Lack of Proper Social Housing

The issue of the housing crisis in the UK has been in existence for decades. Despite it being a known problem, the government has not done much to come up with proper social housing that has been successfully used in other countries to manage the issue of homelessness. Instead, the preference seems to be for private renting, which is unstable and unsustainable, especially in these challenging economic times.

Pressure for Home Ownership

Social media and other societal expectations have put a lot of pressure on people to own homes. This means that more people are being pushed to take mortgages they can barely afford. The result is that they end up being overwhelmed with the payment and lose the house when they can no longer sustain the mortgage plan.

Unexpected Life Circumstances

Homelessness is never about carelessness and poor planning. There are many instances when something as unexpected as having a close family member being sick, being laid off from work or being diagnosed with a terminal illness can throw you off and take away most of the finances you had saved for housing. Many people in the UK have tales about how they never imagined they would be homeless, and it only took one event in their life to change everything.