Heartless councils charge homeless to store possessions
They pile on the agony with bills up to £30 a wk
London, is £15.58. Slough, Berks, charges £11 plus VAT a week, while in Hackney, East London, it is £10 per week. The highest potential charges are in Richmond, West London. Local Tories revealed plans for an instalment system of £10 to £30 a week – £1,500 a year. The top charge would apply in extreme cases. It is now under the Lib Dems, and new council leader Gareth Roberts said: “We will be looking to see what we can do in future budgets to make this position fairer.”
Other councils charging include Cambridge, Stoke, Ealing, Worcester and Ipswich. Charities cited an inability to tackle the housing crisis as the real reason behind the charges.
Greg Beales, campaigns director at Shelter, said: “Many people will greet with disbelief the idea that homeless face the added worry and strain of paying to keep belongings safe.
“It’s important that families receive support during such a difficult time – in finding a home, but also in covering the costs of being homeless, which are often totally unexpected.”
Maeve McGoldrick, head of policy and campaigns at Crisis, said: “Losing your home is a devastating experience and having to pay to keep your possessions safe is an added and painful hardship.
“The real issue here is the huge number of people finding themselves homeless in the first place. If we build the right number of homes each year and ensure there is a strong safety net when people fall on hard times, homelessness can be ended in the UK for good.”
The Local Government Association declined to comment for the councils.
But Karen Dragovic, head of housing at St Albans City and District Council, said its nominal £6-a-week fee was charged depending on applicants’ circumstances.
She said the council covered “the actual cost of storage and transfer of possessions”.