A heartbreaking message to homeless families has been posted on Slough Borough Council's front door, as private landlords evict tenants to ‘cash in’ on the rental market

It comes after a large increase in people coming to the council asking for temporary accommodation – including ‘a number of large families’.

So many families have arrived at the council’s head office on Windsor Road that it has had to post a notice on its front door asking them to wait elsewhere while staff find them a place to stay.

The notice says: “We know it is worrying to be waiting to find out where you will stay tonight. You do not have to wait here all day. Waiting here will not get a decision any quicker and will only be uncomfortable for you.

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“If you have nowhere else to go, you can go to The Curve. It is a warm, safe place. There is free WiFi, toilets, access to computers and space for you and your children.”

It adds: “Please have something to eat and drink. You may have a long wait, and it will not be any easier if you are hungry and thirsty. Make a plan so you know what you are eating tonight.”

The message promises that families will be told where they are staying by 5:30pm – but warns this ‘might be more than walking distance away’.

The number of families seeking help from Slough Borough Council has skyrocketed over the past year. The rise means the council is facing a shortage of accommodation and has added extra strain to its finances.

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Figures published in August say there were some 1,019 homeless families in Slough in the first three months of this year, of which 604 had children. That compares to 378 homeless households, of which 213 over the same period last year.

Slough Borough Council says it now faces spending £5 million more on temporary accommodation than it had budgeted for.

It says that ‘there are a number of large families that require multiple emergency accommodations’.

The council’s director of housing, Pat Hayes, said the increase was down to a rise in evictions by private landlords looking to ‘cash in’ on rising rents and property prices. He said evictions had risen by some 80 per cent over the past four years.

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Mr Hayes said: “There are people getting out of being buy to let landlords because of changes in interest rates and mortgage rates.

“There is also inflation in the private rented sector which means that a lot of landlords can see that they can get more money by slightly uprating a property, evicting the existing tenants and re-letting it at a higher price.”

He added: “The other factor is the increase in the housing retail market which is as strong as it’s ever been.

“A lot of landlords are finding that actually it’s a good time to cash in, concerned that the market won’t continue to go up as much as it has in recent years.”