Figures have revealed the number of people applying to join the housing register could rise by around 50% this year.
The statistics were released in a Lichfield District Council report to a meeting of the cabinet next week.
It said the current rate could see the 22-23 applications reach 3,836 by next April, up from 2,545 last year.
The projections would also see an increase of 139% from the 20-21 period where there were 1,607 requests to join the housing register.
The homelessness prevention report from Cllr Angela Lax, cabinet member responsible for housing, said additional resource was needed to deal with the rise in applicants.
“The council has experienced an increase in housing register applications, due in part to the cost of living crisis.
“Local and national predictions suggest this case load will continue to rise over the winter months and into 2023.
“As a result of this increase in caseload, the team are unable able to spend the necessary time with each applicant, particularly those with complex or additional needs.
“The team are also struggling to find the resource to deliver wider management functions, reporting and quality assurance. The level of work within existing resource is also a risk to the ongoing wellbeing of the team.”
Cllr Angela Lax, Lichfield District Council
Cabinet will hear about plans to utilise existing funding to support more staff to help deal with the increasing numbers.
Three new two-year fixed term housing roles are being proposed using unspent money from the Government’s Homelessness Prevention Grant.
“The recruitment of all three roles will free up management resource within the housing service to allow the team to better focus on projects and ongoing programmes including targeted support for asylum dispersal and other key projects, attending all county meetings and providing a link back to the council on all emerging issues.
“Once the future funding picture is clearer with regards to the Homelessness Prevention Grant, it may be possible to make one of the three roles permanent on the establishment to deliver long-term sustainability into the team.”
Cllr Angela Lax, Lichfield District Council
The proposals will be discussed at the meeting of Lichfield District Council’s cabinet on 6th December.
