Being involved with a group of post-graduate architecture students who are working on a project for an innovative scheme to help asylum seekers and refugees, the Vice-chairperson of Coventry Society, Tim Brown, has been exploring the wider issue of homelessness in the city. It is also topical as the government published a “national plan to end homelessness” in December 2025. Tim writes….
So, to start off with, what’s the relationship between homelessness and asylum seekers and refugees? Data for Coventry for the financial year 2024/25 shows that the Council assessed over 3,200 households who presented themselves as homelessness – this equates to a frightening figure of nine households per day. 97% of these households were found to be owed a duty by the Council under statutory regulations.
Over 360 of these households (nearly 12%) were required to leave asylum support accommodation provided through the Home Office. Under the rules, they are given a maximum of 28 days to vacate their accommodation and find a home – what a challenge for a household who may have few if any connections in the city, a lack of language fluency and suffering trauma (including mental health issues) from their past lived experiences.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, nearly 75% of these households are homeless and sleeping on the streets when they approach the Council. In these cases, they are referenced as being “owed a relief duty” ie they are deemed as being in need of accommodation.
The outcome is usually temporary accommodation often provided by private landlords in shared accommodation or, in extreme circumstances, bed and breakfast provision. Help and support to deal with personal circumstances is often at best rudimentary.
But this is the tip of the iceberg in Coventry and other cities. In our city in 2024/25:
- Nearly 2,200 households were owed a relief duty ie they were homeless and may be sofa surfing or even living on the streets
- Just under 1,000 households were threatened with homelessness ie they were not homeless but were likely to become homeless – these are owed a prevention duty by the Council.
What are the immediate reasons for actual or threatened homelessness in Coventry? There are three causes (apart from loss of Home Office provided accommodation):
- Over 650 households had their private rented tenancy ended by their landlord – this is referred to as a section 21 case which enables a landlord to quickly gain possession of the property without stating a reason
- A similar figure covered families and friends who were no longer willing or able to provide accommodation – this may well be due to changed personal circumstances
- Nearly 400 households were victims of domestic abuse.
One other shocking statistic is that over 80% of these households had support needs including mental health issues, and physical ill-health and disability. So, addressing the homeless challenge in the city requires help and support as well as homes.
The Council is under enormous pressure in addressing homelessness. It points out that there has been a 90% increase in people seeking help since 2020. Its housing advice service, nevertheless, provides plenty of information online – see Housing advice – Coventry City Council. In addition, in 2025, the Council agreed to make £15 million available for a housing support service for two years from April 2026 – see Coventry to consider £15 million investment in Housing Support services – Coventry City Council.
However, the game changer could be national policy. For example:
- From May 2026, private landlords will no longer be able to use section 21 to end tenancies – this could help prevent tenants finishing up as homeless
- “National plan to end homelessness” places much greater emphasis on prevention ie action to prevent households from becoming homeless in the first place.