Introduce inspections for temporary housing to stop children living in horror homes, Labour told

The government should introduce mandatory inspections for properties used as temporary accommodation, MPs have said, in a bid to prevent families being put up in “unsuitable” B&Bs, bedsits and hotels.

A Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (HCLGC) report into the homelessness crisis also called for GPs and schools to be notified when a child moves into temporary accommodation. 

Local authorities should also be told when another council places a homeless family in their area. The committee heard examples of out-of-area placements uprooting families from one side of the country to the other, including a family from Camden being placed in north Manchester and a family from Oldham being placed in Hastings.

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The inquiry comes as record numbers of people are living in temporary accommodation in England, costing councils £2.29bn on temporary accommodation in 2023-24 and £4m a day in London.

Currently, 126,040 households are living in temporary accommodation in England, including 164,040 children, with numbers rising by more than 15% in the last year alone.

Florence Eshalomi, committee chair, said: “It is utterly shameful that so many families are living in B&Bs, bedsits and hotels that are completely unsuitable to their needs; having to travel for hours simply to get to school or work, not having basics like cots and radiator covers, not even having the space to learn to walk or crawl.

“Our committee is clear that more must be done to ensure children do not fall through the cracks into appalling conditions, including by carrying out regular checks on the quality of accommodation and making safeguarding a top priority when placing families.

“Beyond the appalling impact on children and families, this crisis doesn’t deliver value for money for taxpayers. Councils in London alone are spending £4m a day on this form of accommodation, while billions are spent nationwide every year. That’s why our solution to the housing crisis must include enough social housing and genuinely affordable homes to ensure every child has a permanent place to call home.”

The committee’s report found egregious hazards present in some temporary accommodation, including serious damp and mould, excessive cold, and mice infestations.

MPs heard about cases of overcrowding which resulted in cases of older children sharing beds with their parents or siblings, and children without the floor space to crawl or learn to walk.

The committee concluded that some temporary accommodation sourced by local authorities is of such poor quality that it may pose a severe risk to children’s health.

Despite the state of some accommodation, many councils do not carry out regular inspections of the conditions some families are forced to live in. The report described this as “unacceptable” and called for mandatory inspections to be introduced.

MPs also heard that schools, GPs and public bodies are often unaware when children in their care become homeless or change schools due to a move into temporary accommodation, preventing kids from receiving additional support. The committee said a formalised notification system is needed to solve the issue.

Councils should also be forced to tell other local authorities about out-of-area placements in their area, MPs said.

Rising demand for temporary accommodation sees local authorities resort to relocating families elsewhere. That can have a devastating impact on families, the committee found, leaving them far from their extended family, friends and support network, and causing disruption to children’s education. 

Councillor Adam Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “While councils endeavour to place homeless households in their home area, sometimes the decision is made to do an ‘out of area placement’, due to availability of housing stock or other factors.

“Frozen temporary accommodation subsidy rates have left councils to pick up more than £700m in temporary accommodation costs that they are unable to claim back from government.

“Government needs to use the upcoming spending review to ensure that councils are sufficiently resourced, including by urgently increasing the temporary accommodation subsidy.”

Some local authorities are currently falling short of their legal duties with regards to out of area placements, by failing to notify the host authority appropriately.

The government should also work with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the committee said, to ensure resources and powers are in place to investigate complaints of unsuitable temporary accommodation.

Legally, there is a six-week limit for families to stay in B&B temporary accommodation with the properties supposed to be a “last resort”. But demand means that the limit has become “meaningless”, the report said, with no effective sanctions for breaches.

Eshalomi added: “When 74 children had their deaths linked to temporary accommodation in the last five years, it’s clear we need to act urgently to bring an end to this crisis before any more young lives are ruined or lost.

“The devastating reality is that over 164,000 children are stuck in a situation where they don’t have a permanent roof over their own head, and that many families will be stuck in so-called temporary accommodation for years. This isn’t temporary and it isn’t acceptable. We cannot expect children to have the best outcomes in life if they spend so long being forced to live out of suitcases and without basics like a private kitchen and bathroom.”

Responding to the report, Matt Downie, chief executive title at Crisis, agreed with the committee that Labour’s decision to freeze local housing allowance rates would drive more families into homelessness.

Crisis reported this week that just 2.5% of private rented properties listed in England were affordable for people on housing benefit between April and October 2024. Across Great Britain, the rate is 2.7%. Downie said Labour’s decision would mean housing benefit fails to keep up with rising rents and would be a “false economy”.

“This will make renting unaffordable for more families, pushing them out of the private rented sector and into homelessness. It will pile additional pressure on already stretched local authorities and drive up the bill for temporary accommodation,” said Downie.

“To ensure fewer children grow up homeless, the Westminster government must restore housing benefit so that it reflects the true cost of renting and invest in the 90,000 social homes we need each year.”

The government is set to publish its strategy on ending homelessness in July.

Ministers plan to launch a consultation on extending the decent homes standard to temporary accommodation, it was recently revealed.

A government spokesperson said: “These findings are shocking and that is why we are taking urgent action to fix the broken system we inherited, investing nearly £1 billion in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation.

“Alongside this, we are developing a long-term strategy to tackle homelessness, driving up housing standards and delivering the biggest boost in social and affordable homes in a generation.”

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