Anyone else shocked by Mark Easton's report on BBC1 news about the plight of working families forced through no fault of their own to live in hostels/b & b's in Redbridge?

[Sandycarrots]

I was utterly shocked and horrified by this report. Families of four with at least one partner working, with small dc, forced to live in one-bedroom rooms in miserable council hostels or b&b's in Redbridge, with shared bathroom and kitchen facilitates. Fellow residents are often convicted felons and drug dealers.

These families are working but in the majority of cases have been forced to move out of private rented accommodation because landlords wanted to sell or re-develop. They then cannot afford or find equivalent accommodation close to their jobs and schools (presumably because of the housing shortage/rent rises).

One family of four (including a baby) was sharing one bed. One (understandably depressed) mother talked about the lengthy commute her daughter faced going to school every morning sinced they'd been forced to move.

How can this be happening in the UK in 2017? Why is more not being done?

I know many people were happy for the opportunity to purchase their council houses back in the 80s/90s but surely, combined with a rise in population, this was a crisis waiting to happen when that housing was not replaced by anything else?

Off to browse Shelter website

If it was profitable to build lots of houses and rent them for social housing then private companies would do it, the LLs have been squeezed by the gov- less things they can set against tax and higher stamp duty.
The rise in property value is the problem as it leads to high rents - not sure what you can do as it is due to demand. A fall in the number of jobs would change this as people would move elsewhere.
I don’t think it’s better in Scotland. I live in a rural area with few jobs but still hundreds on the HA waiting lists.

speyejoe2.wordpress.com/2017/10/17/housing-homeless-experts-pah/