This is part of a targeted approach to make the best use of existing properties and deliver as much affordable housing as possible for those with the most urgent needs.
The council’s decision will repurpose163 homes on six council estates for use as emergency accommodation for the homeless. These properties were previously privately rented at close to market rate as assured shorthold tenancies (AST). So far, over 60 homes have been returned to the council and are being prepared for letting. Nine homes have already been relet to homeless families.
The borough is facing an unprecedented housing crisis with a serious shortage of affordable homes. There are 40,000 people on the borough’s housing waiting list, and 4,700 homeless families currently living in temporary accommodation, often hotels and bedsits.
The Council is committed to exploring all options available to deliver more affordable homes that residents desperately need. Alongside the recently launched new affordable homes programme, it is currently identifying existing empty homes in the borough that can be used as affordable housing.
Councillor Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, Investment and New Homes said: “We are committed to doing all we can to tackle the housing crisis. The supply of affordable housing for vulnerable and homeless families is under huge pressure.
“There has been a national failure over the past 14 years to build the new homes we need, both for private ownership and social housing. Rents and property prices in Lambeth and across inner London are sky-high. As a council, we are determined to do all we can to address these issues, through measures like our New Homes Programme to deliver a minimum of 500 new affordable homes by 2030 and identifying all the empty homes across the borough that can be used to house our most vulnerable residents currently living in temporary accommodation.
“Bringing these privately rented homes back into use as council accommodation will deliver much-needed homes as quickly as possible for our most vulnerable residents in Lambeth.”
Whilst the positive aspects of this decision are clear, the council recognises the upheaval this will cause for the current private sector tenants. These tenants have been informed of the council’s proposal and will be provided with assistance by the council to support them in moving to a new home, in line with our statutory duties.
In addition to this proposal, Lambeth Council is also accelerating work to bring any empty council housing in the borough up to lettable standards as quickly as possible. So far, the Council has identified 381 void properties which are being repaired, with 133 properties now ready to be relet to residents.
The work to bring voids on our estates back into use quickly reflects a wider council approach to empty homes. The council is developing an overarching Empty Homes Action Plan to consolidate work in this area and enable us to communicate this effectively to our residents. The scale of the housing crisis, seen right across London, means the council is committed to using all steps necessary to make more homes available and we are taking proactive steps to tackle this issue.
Work on empty homes in our estates and in bringing privately rented homes back into use as council accommodation are some of the levers we can influence to provide homes for those most in need of support, in addition to looking to maximise other available levers such as council tax on long-term empty properties in the private sector.
These concerted efforts are part of Lambeth’s improved housing strategy which sets out how the council aims to create more affordable homes, improve housing repairs, and create healthy, safe neighbourhoods for our residents.
