MORE households in York were estimated to be homeless at the start of this year, new figures show.

And an MP in the city said families are being "put under pressure" with rising costs and inflation.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) figures show 67 households in York were estimated to be homeless and were owed a relief duty, which requires housing authorities to help them secure accommodation. This was up from 66 the year before.

The data shows there were 30 single parents and 19 couples with dependent children homeless in York between January and March.

In the city, there were also 148 households threatened with homelessness and owed a prevention duty, 18 of whom faced losing their home after receiving a Section 21 eviction notice - which allows landlords to evict a tenant with just two months’ notice without having to give a reason.

York Central MP, Rachael Maskell, said more needs to be done to help these people - who are finding "their budgets squeezed and their hopes crushed".

The York MP said: "While Rishi Sunak called on the nation to weather the storm, it may be fine for the millionaire Prime Minister, but too many people are defaulting on their rent or mortgages and losing their homes.

"The cost of private rent, now averaging over £1,000 a month, is too much to expect anyone to pay, not least when wages have, yet again been suppressed by the Government.

"It is time that rent controls were introduced to get a grip on the market and Government drove up house building to ease the market and ensure that social and affordable homes are the priority.

"As families are being put under pressure, adult children are leaving home with nowhere to move to, we have seen domestic violence on the rise and landlords ending tenancies, since Government have failed to bring forward the Renters Reform Bill.

"Homelessness is a political choice and Labour is clear that this is not our values and not our politics."

Across England, the homelessness figures hit an all-time high, with 79,840 households having faced homelessness in the first quarter of the year. Of those, 6,440 were because of a Section 21 notice.

A DLUHC spokesperson said: “We are determined to prevent homelessness before it occurs. Temporary accommodation ensures no family is without a roof over their head and we have been clear that its use is always a last resort.

“That’s why we have given £2 billion over three years to help local authorities tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, targeted to areas where it is needed most.”

Those aged between 25 and 34 years old made up the biggest group of rough sleepers, with 23,770 of them living on the streets of England.