Homeless Europeans in the UK need to fix the paperwork and fill in the procedures, required to stay lawfully in the country post-Brexit. Many such people are anxious, doubtful and waiting for the Brexit to conclude. The homeless European include those who have been living in and working in the country for more than 15 years, they want to stay but for some reason, they could not find a job.  People from countries like Lithuania and Romania are facing challenges since Briton voted to leave the country in 2016. There is no relevant consensus of such homeless rough sleepers, and charities say the figures can be much higher where the hidden ones are living in temporary homes and sleeping on transports.  

Currently, they are unclear about how Britain will leave the EU, while, they do not have enough documents to stay back.  Many of them need to apply for the settled status and require legal documents; otherwise, they would be unable to obtain the social welfare benefits and healthcare and may fall in the category of illegal EU migrants. Many such people fear deportation, and so avoid contacting the services to get the exact information. 

Long-term vacant properties grow

Construction of more than 120,000 potential new homes was reported across England in the year 2018, where two-thirds of the sites are ready to deliver homes in 5 years. The CPRE said the Brownfield land development can provide a steady supply of new homes, but some reports state the government inappropriately favors the private housing markets. The last year report by Housing Review found a huge imbalance in funding between private and affordable market housing, where 79 percent of the funding was allocated to private markets. 

The 12-months official data of long-term vacant properties in England show such properties grew 5.3 percent in a year to October to 216,186. The supply was low in London, while, the number of empty homes increased at the rate of 11 percent to 22,481. The boom in house price is a consistent reason for the slowdown in the housing markets, where authorities need to take actions to stop the formation of a property bubble. The recent reports by IMF find the country should impose tougher mortgage limits to prevent overseas buyers from destabilizing the markets.

Funding towards affordable homes will be increased 

The UK Housing Review 2019 edition of last four years find the investment in government’s housing increased and will reach £70bn to 2023.  The investment in the Affordable Homes Programme will get £9.1bn and it will increase by £2bn as a result of Theresa May’s last year pledge and £3.42 bn of the council's money through borrowing. Such changes can increase spending on affordable home to £15bn in four years. Experts believe the only way to produce affordable homes at affordable rents is to increase the subsidy levels, which will allow the social landlords to build more homes. 

To know more about UK properties, click Hamilton International Estates (www.hamiltoninternationalestates.com).