A consortium of anti-poverty charities, including Crisis, Oxfam, Trussell Trust and Save the Children, has warned that the housing crisis is so great that the UK is breaching its human rights commitment to provide adequate homes.

A report published this month by the Just Fair Consortium outlines an increase in the levels of homelessness, and people at risk of homelessness, in England and urges the next government to take action.

Protecting the Right to Housing in England: A Context of Crisis, which is authored by Jessie Hohmann, warns that: “A growing number of individuals and families in England are not able to secure the adequate, safe and affordable housing that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requires. Homelessness is rising. Housing is increasingly unaffordable, and legislative changes have weakened key safety nets for English households.”

The report highlights that homelessness has increased at the same time as services for homeless people have been cut and raises concerns about the quality of housing available in the private rental sector.

It concludes: “The government is manifestly failing to meet its obligations to ensure the right to housing of its population, so that everyone can enjoy a standard of living in homes that are adequate, safe, and secure.”

It urges the government to increase funding available for support services and legislate to make it harder for private landlords to evict people or substantially increase rents.

Human rights charity Just Fair launched the Just Fair Consortium to monitor levels of deprivation. More than 80 national charities and community groups have joined the Just Fair Consortium, which will present its annual monitoring findings to MPs and peers in Parliament, before calling for change at the United Nations in 2015 when the UK’s human rights record will be reviewed.

Crisis campaign

Crisis has launched a campaign, No One Turned Away, urging politicians to review the law so that homeless single people are not turned away by councils.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Homelessness is devastating and it shouldn’t happen to anyone. Tackling it must be a higher priority for the next government.”