There are more than 8,000 applicants for social housing in Southampton but they face waits of up to 11 years and five months for a home.

It comes as Southampton City Council gave an update on the number of households facing homelessness as low-income families are hit by utility bill hikes and rising rents during the cost of living crisis.

The number of households approaching the council who said they are under threat of being homeless within 56 days has risen over the last three years.

In 2020/21, the city council supported 1,242 people who were threatened with homelessness. In 2021/22, around 1,609 and 1,826 in 2022/23.

Maria Byrne, the city council’s service lead for housing and welfare support, predicts an increase of around 1,900 for the coming year.

The officer said: “We’ve seen more and more people come to us for advice. It’s not just people on benefits; it’s low-income families with, especially, the rise of the cost of living. We’ve seen households that we wouldn’t have seen before because people are generally finding it difficult to find housing, whether social or private.

“The most common reasons why people got evicted is because landlords want to sell or re-let the property, the tenants experience financial difficulties and due to increased rent.”

Currently, around 8,000 applications are on a waiting list for social housing.

Waiting times show that for a one-bedroom home, the 4,304 on the list might need to wait two years and three months if they are on the priority list. If not, they could face a wait of four and eight years.

According to the data, 1,498 applications for a two-bedroom are on the waiting list, with similar waiting times.

However, the 1,548 waiting for a three-bedroom might wait nine years if they are on the priority list; if not, they might have to wait 11 years and five months.

Mrs Byrne said: “A lot of people on that waiting list for social housing might never get that property. That’s why we need to be realistic with people around: “You need to also look for other accommodation options”.

According to the Local Government Association, councils spend £1.7bn a year renting temporary and often overcrowded accommodation.

In Southampton, 182 households are on temporary emergency housing accommodations, 20 are placed on bed and breakfast accommodations for more than six weeks, and around 150 are on nightly paid accommodation.