More families in Bolton were estimated to be homeless at the start of this year, new figures show.

Across England, the homelessness figures hit an all-time high, with 79,840 households having faced homelessness in the first quarter of the year.

Of those, 6,440 were because of a Section 21 "no-fault" eviction, which allows landlords to evict a tenant with just two months’ notice, without having to give a reason.

In May, the Government published its Renters (Reform) Bill to ban no-fault evictions and introduce greater protections for renters. However, the bill has failed to make any progress through Parliament since.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities figures show 352 households in Bolton were estimated to be homeless and were owed a relief duty, which requires housing authorities to help them secure accommodation. This was up from 277 the year before.

There were also 234 households threatened with homelessness and owed a prevention duty, 20 of whom faced losing their home after receiving a Section 21 notice to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

There were 82 single parents and 42 couples with dependent children homeless in Bolton between January and March.

In Bolton, 2.9 per 100,000 people were estimated to be homeless. The national average currently stands at 1.8 people.

Billa Ahmed, Homeless Aid UK’s co-founder, said: “I’m not surprised I’ve been speaking about this for some time, about the pandemic and the affect that is has had on people.

“There were no section 21’s being given, a lot of people were safe and now with the cost-of-living crisis, with food being very expensive, the inflation is high, the utilities are very high as well and its putting a lot of pressure on families

“Also, one of the government policies that’s continue without change, where they put a freeze on housing benefits which are not in line with all the increased rents.

“So rents are increasing, people are still getting the same amounts so the landlords are wanting to get people out unfortunately because their mortgages have gone up as well, and also there is a lack of social housing which is going to increase people relying on temporary accommodation which is going to put a lot of pressure on the local council because there is not a lot of temporary accommodation that is out there.

“Especially like in Bolton, they a lot of amazing work here but there is not enough social housing, there is not enough temporary accommodation and when people do go in temporary accommodation, they can’t move them on, it is quite hard to find them other places and social housing where they can actually stay.

“I think they predicated last year about 300,000 people will be homeless in 2023 and unfortunately, I think it is going to get worse and it is going to get a lot more worse than it is, I really hope it doesn’t but unfortunately that is the way that it is actually going.

“We’ve seen a massive increase in the number of people using our soup kitchen from having 30 people attend two years ago, we are hitting numbers of 100 plus and also using our food bank, we have got people who are working but they are finding it very hard to make ends meet because of the cost of living, the cost of food which is inflating and it is just really bad out there.

“A lot of people are struggling from different backgrounds, and we tell people that they don’t have to be homeless or be on benefits to use our foodbank, everybody is welcome.”

Housing charity Shelter has estimated 172 families are served with an eviction notice every day while the bill is delayed.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “With record numbers of people becoming homeless, the time for empty words on building social homes and overdue promises on ending no fault evictions has long passed.

“No-fault evictions are fuelling homelessness and throwing thousands of families’ lives into turmoil.”

Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “Renting in England is in crisis. Rents are rising at their fastest rate since records began, a fifth of privately rented homes don’t meet a ‘decent’ standard, and no-fault evictions continue to be a leading cause of homelessness.

“Four years after promising change, and two months after first giving people hope by introducing legislation, the Government’s continued delays to the Renters (Reform) Bill are inexplicable.”

A DLUHC spokesperson said: “We are determined to prevent homelessness before it occurs. Temporary accommodation ensures no family is without a roof over their head and we have been clear that its use is always a last resort.

“That’s why we have given £2 billion over three years to help local authorities tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, targeted to areas where it is needed most.”

Those aged 25-34 made up the biggest group of rough sleepers, with 23,770 of them living on the streets of England.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.