Lambeth has put forward a series of changes to its Placement Policy, amid a huge increase in spending on housing homeless families in temporary accommodation (TA), which now costs the council more than £100 million a year.
The policy, which sets out how the council matches families in housing need with available accommodation, has remained largely unchanged for more than a decade – despite spiralling costs, increased demand and an acute shortage of affordable homes. That shortage follows a national failure over the last two decades to build the social housing our communities desperately need. Lambeth Council is doing what it can, building the first new council houses in a generation, and seeking every opportunity to work with partners to develop new affordable homes. But it’s still not enough.
The revised policy lays bare the fact that the crippling impact of the housing crisis means a tenancy in the private sector will be the most suitable option for homeless households who at the moment are likely to be placed in insecure and often poorer-quality temporary accommodation. Lambeth also expects that the majority will have to move out of the borough – and often out of the southeast – where there is a greater supply of affordable accommodation, but there will be strict criteria to support families with children in local schools or specific care or medical needs to stay in or as close to the borough as possible.
Lambeth has worked hard for many years to keep residents within the capital and largely within the borough, unlike many councils who have used placements much further afield for many years. But the number of homeless households supported by the council has increased by 50% in the last two years, and Lambeth is now providing temporary accommodation for over 4,600 homeless households every night.
Although TA is meant to be for short periods, the reality is that 2,900 homeless households have now been in these insecure placements for more than two years and over 1500 for more than five years.
The use of TA properties has severe impacts on homeless individuals and families – but the financial repercussions for Lambeth as a whole are also huge. The rising demand for TA has contributed to Lambeth’s budget challenge, with the council needing to find £183 million in savings over four years, with £99 million agreed and a further £84 million to be identified before March next year.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, Investment and New Homes said: “Our new Placement Policy reflects the challenging reality we face – record numbers of families presenting themselves as homeless in Lambeth every day and unsustainable pressure on council finances caused by our increased need to source Temporary Accommodation to keep these families off the streets.
“We are determined to continue meeting our moral and legal duty to homeless families in Lambeth, whilst ensuring the financial stability of the council.
“Whilst this will mean placing families further away from Lambeth than they would like to be, we are determined to give them the stability and security they desperately need by giving them longer term placements in areas that will meet their family, cultural and community needs. This allow them to plan for the future, knowing they have a safe and secure home.”
Lambeth’s updated placement policy will in future prioritise the allocation of TA within or close to the borough based on factors including:
- Education – with children at key stages of education (i.e. GCSEs, A-Levels), to be prioritised for accommodation within a reasonable distance of their schools.
- Care needs – ensuring those providing care (and in receipt of carer’s allowance), to be given priority for accommodation in Lambeth and its vicinity.
- Medical needs – where these mean the applicant needs to stay close to
Lambeth is one of the country’s biggest social housing landlords, with more than 20000 rented council homes, but there are 28,000 households waiting for a council home. And, while only around 800 council properties become available to let every year, 478 households approached the Council for assistance in September alone.
The TA crisis has been made more acute by the gap between private sector rent levels and the level of benefits in Lambeth, which has been frozen by successive governments at 2011 levels.
This means the council is forced to look outside the borough for homes that residents can afford to live in. By providing an offer of a decent, secure and affordable home in another part of the country, we can support families to live in a home that meets their needs and ends the uncertainty of temporary accommodation.
A council report on the proposed changes, published this week/today states that the aim was “to secure accommodation that is affordable and can provide settled long-term housing for families affected by homelessness”.
It added: “The revised Placement Policy sets out a transparent, lawful approach to placing homeless households in suitable accommodation, ensuring fairness while reflecting the severe shortage of affordable housing locally.
“While many applicants understandably wish to remain in Lambeth, the lack of affordable suitable housing means that sustainable placements are often outside the borough. The aim of the Placement Policy is that moves are sustainable in the long term.”
