
© Benjamin Youd
Mary and her children lived in three temporary homes in two years
Tens of thousands of working households in temporary accommodation because they are unable to pay 'hideously unaffordable' rents, warns Shelter
More than half of homeless families across England are in work but
soaring rent and a lack of social housing is pushing more households into temporary accommodation, a charity has warned.
Data obtained by
Shelter shows that more than 33,000 families in temporary accommodation are holding down a job despite having nowhere stable to live - a figure that has increased by 73 per cent since 2013, when it was 19,000 families.
One single mother, Mary Smith, who works full-time in a shoe shop, told
The Independent she and her three sons had been stuck in a "vicious cycle" of unstable temporary accommodation for two years after being evicted from their private rented property. They have been unable to afford to rent somewhere else.
They are among thousands of working households
in low-paid, part-time or contract jobs that are no longer able to afford rents and are therefore being forced into poor and overcrowded temporary accommodation, according to Shelter.
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