A new strategy is being proposed to tackle York's rocketing homelessness figures which have more than doubled over the past five years.

Recent government figures showed York to have the 29th highest number of people in the country living in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation while they wait for permanent council housing.

A report to councillors at Tuesday's City of York Council (housing services officer in consultation) meeting says the council is fighting to cope with a 76 per cent increase in the number of homeless households entitled to re-housing this year.

The report blames soaring property prices, the loss of council homes through the right to buy scheme and soaring rents for private rented accommodation for the increase in homelessness.

It says: "Property prices in York have risen by around 25 per cent in the last year. As well as making it considerably more difficult for first-time buyers to become home-owners, this also makes buying houses to let out to students (rather than families) a much more viable option for larger scale private landlords."

The Groves and South Bank are two areas of the city which are named in the report as having rents which are too high to put them within Housing Benefit eligibility levels for lower income households.

Councillors at the meeting will vote on whether to adopt the Homelessness Strategy, which advocates a range of improvements - including piloting house sharing initiatives, advertising to increase the availability of support lodgings and privately rented rooms, and the possibility of voluntary movement of tenants to vacant accommodation in other authorities.

Jim Crook, the council's director of community services, said: "Demographic factors and changes in the law such as the growth in single households and the classification of all 16 and 17-year-old homeless people as vulnerable are part of the picture, but the local factors include a high demand for all kinds of housing in York, therefore increasing the cost.

"You have homeless households competing with students and those who can afford high rents for short lets.

"A ceiling on Housing Benefit means it can be very difficult for homeless people to meet the rental gap in the private sector."

Updated: 11:21 Friday, June 15, 2001