Social housing crisis warning as thousands on list

Some 470 families are in temporary accommodation, as "supply does not meet the demand"

A town has declared it is in a "housing crisis" as thousands of families bid for social housing "to no avail".

Oldham councillors agreed a motion which recognised that families had been "fruitlessly bidding" for homes and the number of people living in temporary accommodation had doubled since 2021.

Councillor Elaine Taylor said that housing was “a basic human need” but that there was a “growing scarcity” of affordable housing.

Key partners in Oldham’s housing sector will hold a summit to discuss the problem.

Currently, there are more than 7,500 families on Oldham’s social housing register, with almost 11,000 applicants still being processed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ms Taylor, cabinet member for housing and licensing, said: “Our ambition for every Oldhamer to have a decent affordable home should not be a big ask.

"However, there is a growing scarcity of genuinely affordable housing."

She said there had not been enough social homes built for “way too many years”, stating that it would take more than 120 years to give “affordable” housing to everyone waiting nationally.

'Soaring costs'

The motion stated that thousands of "families have been fruitlessly bidding on properties to no avail through no fault of their own".

Ms Taylor also highlighted the "soaring costs" of temporary accommodation.

Councillor Chris Goodwin expressed support, calling the housing system "broken".

Tory opposition group councillor Dave Arnott put forward an amendment, telling the chamber that the motion "proposed virtually nothing tangible”.

The amendment was defeated, and many councillors agreed to proceed with the original motion which will see a housing summit take place in the borough.