A professional body is calling on the South West's land, property and construction sectors to collaborate to help end rising homelessness and deliver more affordable homes.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is asking those who work in the industry to pledge their support for its 'A Home For Cathy' campaign.

The RICS - which sets professional standards in the land, property and construction sectors - launched the campaign to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Ken Loach's seminal TV play, 'Cathy Come Home' which gave a moving account of homelessness and its consequences.

RICS is now calling on the South West's wider property sector - as well as policy makers and advocates for change - to commit to helping deliver solutions to alleviate the affordable housing crisis by pledging support for its anti-homelessness campaign.

In doing so, those that pledge are invited to provide feedback on how the industry can end rising homelessness and deliver more affordable homes across the region.

This feedback will help form the organisation's manifesto of recommendations for Governments across the UK on how it proposes the land, property and construction sectors can, and should, collaborate better to end rising homelessness.

At worst, homelessness can mean sleeping rough on the streets, and there are a growing number of rough sleepers across the UK - but particularly in England. In 2016 Government statistics showed that 4,134 people slept rough on any one night across England - this is over double the number counted in 2010.

To add to this, recent RICS market research has revealed that the UK faces a 1.8m shortfall of rental properties by 2025, and over the next five years rents are predicted to rise by 25 per cent followed by house prices at around 18 per cent due to an ongoing shortage of housing stock.

Former RICS President, Michael Newey, Chief Executive at Broadland Housing (part of the Homes for Cathy Group) said: "It's hard to comprehend that over 50 years later - since Cathy Come Home first aired - we are once again in the grips of another housing crisis with rocketing unaffordability levels pricing even those on good incomes out of the market.

"Rising prices along with recent caps to housing benefits, including the abolition of housing benefit for those under 21, are key reasons why those on lower incomes are being pushed out of the market.

"However, recent RICS research revealed that over 50 percent of private landlords would house homeless people if the Government introduced some form of state-endorsed deposit guarantor scheme. We need industry professionals to lend their expertise and tell us about any other such innovative ideas they have, that we, as a united property industry, can tap into and deliver to put an end to rising homelessness."

Picture: Pixabay

Readers' comments:

Mike Lawrence: I have had contact with the homeless in the past when I was helping out a charity.

It's not as simple as that. If only it were. The usual reasons for homelessness are drink, drugs and mental illness. If you are not suffering one of those, homelessness is usually very brief, if it happens at all.

You cannot, must not even, solve the accommodation issue unless the root cause is also stopped if any permanency is to be seen.

It's all too easy to provide a bed but you must be careful that it does not become a revolving door with people back on the streets very soon after they are helped with accommodation.