The Argus conducts interviews with the council, politicians, unions, and charities to investigate what is causing the surge in rough sleepers using tents throughout the city, as well as what can be done to address the issue.

The council’s approach to rough sleepers:

Councillor Gill Williams

Councillor Gill Williams(Image: The Argus)

The council has developed a draft plan for combating homelessness and rough sleeping for the next five years.

According to the research, there were approximately 76 persons sleeping rough in November 2024, with nearly 3,600 experiencing homelessness in June 2024. As a result, the council will adjust its strategy to a longer-term emphasis on “prevention and early intervention” for rough sleepers and homelessness, resulting in “difficult decisions” in the short term.

“We’ve had over 2,500 households come to us asking for assistance in the last year,” Councillor Gill Williams, cabinet member for housing, told The Argus.

“This involves both families and individuals. So we’re dealing with a large number of enquiries, which I’m happy to report we’re getting through. “In early 2025, we discovered that there were 704 homeless people who had two or more compounded requirements.

That could imply that it is not only about homelessness or rough sleeping, but also about their health. “There could be substance abuse, a criminal history, domestic violence, refugees, and a variety of other issues. “It’s not simply about providing a roof over someone’s head.

It’s also about getting assistance and support for the many requirements that people have.”

Tents near new Hove Beach Park(Image: Eddie Mitchell)

The rough sleepers draft also revealed that approximately 7,500 households are on the waiting list for social housing, reaching “unprecedented levels,” with an average wait of 3.3 years to be housed and 6.2 years for a 3-bedroom socially rented dwelling.

The council has stated that it has earmarked £28 million to cover the cost of temporary housing this year, but that it is likely to “significantly overspend”; it also expects to lose government grant cash to help with homelessness prevention.

Cllr Williams remarked, “There are enormous financial pressures. We also have almost 1,900 households in temporary and emergency housing, which is a significant expenditure.

She went on to say, “These encampments grow in number each summer. “We use a three-visit protocol. So we have three possibilities, since occasionally people do not want to participate. “They become worried or concerned.”

“We say you can’t camp here because it’s dangerous, and we’ve seen some really terrible encampments on the Madeira Terraces. “Unfortunately, we must eliminate those for the sake of the people’s health. But it’s critical that we understand why they’re there, who they are, and what they require.

“If you’re a rough sleeper, we’ll give you something off the street. “It could be temporary, only for the night, and we could have to move you again. But we can offer you something, and that is what we do with people that are intense.”

Tent encampment being removed from Madeira Terrace, BRIGHTON(Image: EDDIE MITCHELL)

The cabinet member for housing added that if the council is unable to move the tents, it “has to go down” the path of obtaining a court order, but that this is “not the first resort” because it is “expensive and time-consuming” for the council.

She additionally stated: “We do try to help those people but where it’s particularly causing a danger or a distress then that is what we will do.”

Acorn Union –  No fault evictions and ‘London-esque’ rents cause for homelessness

Members of Acorn Brighton protest outside a lettings agent (Image: The Argus).

Toby Sedgwick, Brighton organiser for community union Acorn, claims that many people are presenting to the council as homeless with “nowhere else to go” as a result of Section 21 evictions from the private rented sector.

A Section 21 notice, often known as a “no-fault” eviction notice, allows a landlord to cancel a tenancy without providing a cause, although they must meet legal requirements for the notice to be valid. Toby stated, “I know that at one point in Brighton, ten people per day presented themselves as homeless to the council.”

He stated that they seek assistance from the council office at Bartholomew House in Brighton. “They’re literally just turning up at Bartholomew House just saying, I’m homeless, I’ve got nowhere to go” according to him.

“That’s ten people per day; that’s massive.” The other distinguishing feature of Brighton and Hove is the high rents. “Brighton has one of the highest rentals in the country, following several central London neighbourhoods.

“This is obviously a massive issue because quite often people who are struggling, especially if they’re on universal credit, the universal credit does not cover the rent at all.”

According to government data released in August, bailiffs evicted 11,400 households in England from their homes as a result of a Section 21 no-fault eviction between July 2024 and June 2025, representing an 8% increase over the previous year.

The Ministry of Justice’s numbers also reveal that private landlords in England issued over 30,000 Section 21 no-fault eviction letters over the same time period.

Shelter, a charity that advocates for the right to a safe home and assists individuals affected by the housing crisis, has identified no-fault evictions as one of the top causes of homelessness.

Mairi MacRae, Shelter’s head of campaigns and policy, stated, “For far too long, tenants’ lives have been upended by the blatant injustice of no fault evictions.

“At the whim of private landlords, thousands of tenants are being left with just two months to find a new home, plunging them into a ruthless rental market and leaving many exposed to the riptide of homelessness.”

Toby noted that even a “small rent increase” can compel people to move out because they can no longer afford the rent, putting them at risk of being homeless.

He explained: “Then they approach the council for assistance. They are classified as voluntarily homeless since they were not addicted to drugs or alcohol and opted to leave rather than get into debt due to rent arrears.

“They’re classed as having made themselves homeless.” In an interview with The Argus in April, Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove and Portslade, underlined that young people leaving are being driven to relocate to London because it is “cheaper” than living in Hove.

“People want us to be a city where young people can grow up, leave home, but stay local if they want to,” he told the paper,

“And we’re quickly becoming a city where people are forced to leave their houses because they can’t afford to stay. And that is not how it should be.

According to the Office for National Statistics, private rentals in Brighton and Hove rose to an average of £1,799 in February 2025, up 5.1% year on year from £1,712 in February 2024.

In contrast, private rentals increased to an average of £1,494 in Croydon and £1,604 in Bromley, both of which are easily and rapidly accessible to the capital by public transport.

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