- Written by Noah Vickers
- Local Democracy Reporting Service
The council says it is spending a total of £90 million a month to put residents into emergency housing, including hostels.
London councils are spending £90m a month on temporary accommodation for the homeless, an increase of almost 40% last year, new data shows.
Statistics from the umbrella body of London councils show that one in 50 people in the capital are homeless and living in temporary accommodation.
The city council has warned that without further support from the government, more boroughs could effectively declare bankruptcy.
The Government has announced a commitment of £352 million between 2023 and 2025.
London Councils is a non-partisan local authority association representing the capital’s 32 borough councils and the City of London.
It said the latest figures showed “a sharp rise in homelessness rates”, with more than 175,000 people in the capital region – one in 50 – thought to be in temporary accommodation.
The group added that this figure includes 85,000 children, suggesting there is on average at least one homeless child in every classroom in London.
The data also suggests that the number of people reporting being homeless in London increased by 14.5% between September 2022 and September 2023.
Councilor Darren Rodwell, executive member for regeneration, housing and planning, called for the Government to “increase funding” to support the borough.
He added: “Boroughs are working hard to house London’s homeless population, but London’s ballooning temporary accommodation bill poses a significant risk to the financial stability of the boroughs.”
“Bankruptcy risk”
“It is no exaggeration to say that if things continue as they are, the huge costs will put us at risk of bankruptcy.”
He called on ministers to remove an “unfair” cap on the amount councils can receive from the government to help pay for temporary accommodation. This amount has now been linked to the benefit rate since 2011 and no longer reflects costs.
“Removing the unwarranted cap on housing benefit subsidy rates for temporary accommodation would greatly reduce pressure on the District’s resources and allow us to make ends meet while providing homeless assistance to everyone who needs it. “It will help,” he added.
The number of households in temporary accommodation in London has almost doubled since 2010, rising from 36,000 in March 2010 to 63,000 in September 2023, according to the latest data from London Councils. It became.
The main causes are thought to be the soaring cost of living and disruption to London’s private rental sector, as well as a lack of affordable housing.
A spokesperson for the Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities said the government was committed to “preventing homelessness before it happens”.
“We are delivering more than £1 billion to councils over three years through homelessness prevention grants, including £352 million for London from 2023 to 2025.”