The number of households being housed in temporary accommodation has risen from 999 in 2021 to 1,148 in 2023, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Waltham Forest Council has spent more than £20million housing people in temporary accommodation since 2021.
The local authority owes a legal duty to house at-risk residents but is struggling amid what it calls a “severe housing crisis”.
The data, obtained by Personal Injury Claims UK, also showed that an increasing number of households were being housed by Waltham Forest.
That volume has risen from 999 in 2021 to 1,148 in 2023. It dipped slightly to 878 in 2022, in line with a drop in spending.
Councillor Ahsan Khan, the cabinet member for housing, said the “grim reality” was that there were not enough available homes in London.
As a result, residents are being put up in hotels or bed-and-breakfast-style accommodation. In some cases, residents have been rehoused outside London.
Housing is one of the biggest financial strains on the council, and has cost the authority a total of £20,822,867 over the past three years.
In 2021, Waltham Forest spent £6,490,001 on temporary accommodation. That dipped to £4,478,601 the following year, but rose to a new high of £9,854,265 in 2023.
Grace Williams, leader of Waltham Forest Council, told a Westminster housing committee last week: “London is at the centre of a housing crisis. At the moment, it is London facing the brunt of temporary accommodation pressures.
“No borough wants to place people outside its own borough.”
She added: “We’re at the situation now where we simply can’t sustain housing within our boroughs.”
Cllr Williams said around 75% of London councils’ housing budgets were being spent on temporary accommodation and housing at-risk residents.
In a statement provided to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Khan said: “Councils in London are facing a temporary accommodation emergency.
“Across the city, the costs of assisting people who need housing support from their council are rapidly rising, while the availability of suitable temporary and permanent accommodation is declining. This creates a perfect storm.”
He added: “We know how distressing the risk of losing your home is for those who experience it. Families facing homelessness deserve our compassion and respect.
“The grim reality is there are not enough homes available in London. The only way to tackle the housing crisis head-on is to build more high-quality genuinely affordable homes and give local people the chance to live in a place of their own near their family, friends, and support networks.”
Though Cllr Williams said London councils have a “good track record” on building new homes, cost remained an obstacle. She said increasing costs of construction and planning “were making it really difficult”.
In 2023, about 109,000 households in England – including 142,000 children – were in emergency housing between June and September.
That marked a 10% increase on the same period the previous year.
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