Record numbers of people are facing homelessness in Stockport – due to a lack of housing and high private sector rents. 

That's according to a report shared as part of the council's anti-poverty objectives between now and 2027.

The report said the amount of people looking for accommodation is 'significantly greater than the supply within the borough', and that private landlords are becoming 'increasingly unaffordable' for many.

It added: "The cost and availability of housing to either rent or purchase means that those on lower incomes are particularly affected resulting in record numbers of people presenting to the council as homeless."

In 2022/23, that saw 2,300 households looking for homelessness assistance, a 22 per cent rise to the previous year. The escalating crisis has led to the council having to use bed and breakfasts to house people, as well as providing temporary accommodation.

In November, there were 137 households in temporary accommodation, with 29 in hotels. The amount spent on housing people in temporary accommodation in 2023/24 is expected to be higher than £500,000.

The report was shared as part of the council's anti-poverty objectives (Image - Alasdair Perry)

That includes maximising development opportunities and lobbying to bring about change to housing policy at a subregional and national level. The lack of housing is a national issue which is impacting councils across the UK.

Rochelle Antley lives with her two children at her father-in-law's house. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service her search for a home has taken three years and that she's had to present as being homeless at home.

Ms Antley said the situation has been particularly hard on her kids who are struggling to cope. She added: "Our daughter is awaiting autism assessment and the situation has caused her significant difficulties. The rental prices for private renting are astronomical. How they expect families to afford a minimum of £1,000 per month for a family home is ridiculous.

"No-one is allowing new build developments to go through the council, or the developers are going bust." A number of new developments are being built in Stockport to try and increase the number of homes available.

(Image - Alexander Greensmith)

The council is aiming to build 4,000 new homes by 2035, and most of which are apartments in the town centre where prices are rising fast. Lib Dem-run Stockport town hall is in the process of creating its local plan for housing, but opponents say this has been left too late.

Councillor David Meller, leader of Stockport Labour, said the report was 'really concerning' and called for more affordable and social homes to be built. He added: "We've been clear that not enough affordable and social housing is being built in Stockport. This hasn't been helped by not having an up-to-date local plan.

"Having a local plan by now would have supported the delivery of affordable and social housing across our borough. Yet the homelessness issue isn't just affecting those without a home – it's impacting all of us. The amount spent on temporary accommodation is taking valuable funding away from the basic council services everyone uses.

"This situation really can't go on. We need to build more affordable and social homes right across the borough, ensuring all areas take their fair share."

(Image - Alexander Greensmith)

Cllr Colin MacAlister, cabinet member for economy, regeneration and housing at Stockport council, said it was important to recognise that the housing market is broken.

He said: "Lack of affordable and social housing, and a rise in homelessness, are national problems which are also affecting Stockport. As everyone knows, since the Housing Act of 1980 social housing in particular has been diminishing due to Right To Buy.

"Working again with Stockport Homes as well as other housing partners, the council has focused on developing new affordable homes and over the last five years 721 new affordable homes across the borough have been completed with a further 489 currently on site.

"The council has also driven huge transformative changes in the Town Centre through the work of the Mayoral Development Corporation, delivering a new community of more than 4,000 homes by 2035, with over 1,600 of them being delivered or on site by the end of 2024 and over 30 per cent of those being affordable.

"Average house prices are over-inflated relative to average earnings based on long term trends and too many newly built properties are snapped up by buy-to-let landlords, seeking to profit on high rental levels. These are not matters which we as a council can solve."

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