[Text on screen]: Over 300,000 people in Britain are homeless. Some charities say this could double by 2041

Why homelessness is a human rights crisis:

The number of rough sleepers has risen for the seventh year in a row. Evictions are at an all-time high, with 170 tenants in the UK being forced from their homes every day.

The international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights protects our right to an adequate standard of living. That includes adequate food, clothes ad housing.

But factors like high rents, a housing shortage and cuts to housing benefits are leaving more and more people without a home.

Councils must help if you’re legally homeless or threatened with homelessness, but they can refuse you long-term housing if you’re deemed “intentionally homeless.”

A lack of available housing may be exacerbating the problem. 11,000 homes in the Uk have stood empty for the last decade, with only 1 in 13 councils taking steps to make them habitable

In 2018, the Homelessness Reduction Act came into force in the UK, meaning local councils must now take “all reasonable steps” to prevent homelessness. However, the Act has been criticised for not addressing the underlying causes of homelessness, such as housing benefit cuts or lack of affordable housing.

MPs have recognised that homelessness is becoming a national crisis. But more needs to be done to tackle the causes of homelessness.

We all deserve a place to call home. We all deserve our basic human rights.