Temporary accommodation is posing a “shocking strain” on local councils in England, with a quarter spending 5% of their budget on short-term solutions for households experiencing homelessness, research has found.
A report from campaign group Generation Rent has found that just under a quarter (24%) of the 249 local councils in England analysed in the research spent at least £1 in every £20 of their budget on temporary accommodation in 2022 to 2023.
The research found that Hastings, Crawley, Arun, Swale and Rother were among the local councils spending the biggest proportion of their budgets on temporary accommodation.
Households are placed by councils in temporary accommodation when they are made homeless and the council has a legal obligation to rehouse them, but regular private or social housing is unavailable. Usage of temporary accommodation has soared across England in recent years amid the worsening housing crisis.
According to the Local Government Association, the number of households now living in temporary accommodation has risen by 89% over the past decade, costing local councils at least £1.74bn in 2022 to 2023.
In 2023, the growing need for temporary accommodation – with many homeless families living in often unsuitable and overcrowded B&Bs and hostels – was described as a “humanitarian crisis”.