Housing waiting list highest since 2012 - charity

Shelter shone a message on the Angel of the North to highlight the housing issue

The number of households on social housing waiting lists across north-east England has hit its highest level since 2012, according to a charity.

It went up from 50,453 households waiting in 2022, to 75,985 in 2023.

The increase of almost 51% is far higher than anywhere else in England, with the next highest rise in demand being just 8% in the North West.

Charity Shelter warned the North East was facing a housing "emergency" and called for more and safer homes.

Sunderland’s social housing waiting list saw the biggest growth in the region, increasing by 523% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Local Democracy reporting Service.

Its list grew from 1,483 to 9,237.

Sunderland City Council cabinet member councillor Kevin Johnston said the city had been affected by the national shortage of housing.

Mr Johnston said the council was "increasing the supply of homeless accommodation" and continued to work with partners to ensure there was support "to allow people to move to independent living in a quality home".

Mr Johnston added it was "very clear" that the government needed to do more to increase the supply of social housing across the country.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said it had delivered over 172,600 homes for social rent since 2010.

Higher demand

A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said the cost of living crisis and "post Covid recovery" had resulted in higher demand for affordable housing.

The local authority's social housing waiting list more than tripled from 3,146 to 9,749.

The spokesperson added the increased demand was also partly due to a change in the management of the housing register, "from a sub-regional choice based lettings scheme to a borough-wide scheme".

“In addition we continue to lose council housing through right to buy sales, resulting in a lack of available homes and meaning that households now need to wait longer to be rehoused,” the spokesperson added.

Councillor Irim Ali said the figures made for “depressing reading”

Newcastle’s waiting list nearly doubled from 6,149 to 12,072.

Newcastle City Council's Irim Ali, who has responsibility for housing, said only 472 homes in Newcastle had been available for council and registered provider properties in the last three months of 2023.

"If no new applicants applied, it would take us five years to rehouse all households on the register," Ms Ali said.

Ms Ali added the council provided advice and support to "prevent evictions in the private rented sector" and was doing their "best" to build more affordable council homes.

'Ruining lives'

Shelter said that a spike in rental rates in the private housing sector was pushing more people towards social housing.

Tracy Guy, strategic lead at Shelter North East, said: "The housing emergency is ruining lives across the North East."

A DLUHC spokesperson said they had delivered more than 696,100 new affordable homes across the country since 2010.