Lambeth adopting ‘unfair system’ over allocations of larger homes, say housing group
By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter
Over half of Lambeth’s larger council homes were let to families outside of the bidding system in the second half of last year.
Data obtained by a housing support group through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request shows 62 per cent of four bedroom homes and 51 per cent of three bedroom homes in Lambeth were allocated through the council choosing households directly.
In March, families on the council’s 28,000-long waiting list complained about a sudden drop in the number of larger social homes available to bid on through Lambeth’s bidding platform.
At the time the council blamed the apparent decrease in three and four bedroom social homes appearing on ‘huge demand and limited supply’, which meant larger homes were being ‘allocated quicker than ever’ and spending ‘less time on the bidding system’.
But Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL) has dismissed the Labour-run council’s explanation as ‘absurd’. “A four-bed flat is advertised from Wednesday to Sunday, exactly the same as we see with one-bed flats on the Lambeth bidding website,” Liz Wyatt, a HASL member said.
HASL believes the drop in social homes available on the bidding system is a result of the council making more direct offers of larger properties to homeless families, in an attempt to reduce the amount it spends on temporary housing.
A separate Freedom of Information (FOI) request by HASL shows that 82 per cent of direct offers made by Lambeth council in the second half of 2024 went to households in temporary accommodation. Around 4,700 Lambeth families are currently in temporary accommodation, which, according to the council, is often of ‘sub-standard’ quality. Lambeth spent over £90 million on temporary accommodation last year.
HASL said it wasn’t against Lambeth making direct offers in ‘exceptional circumstances’ but said the fact there was no way of knowing how families were being selected meant there was ‘no guarantee’ social homes were going to those most in need.
Liz Wyatt added: “The council runs a housing waiting list which is rightly ordered according to housing need. Those families in emergency Band A on the waiting list are essentially facing queue jumping by the council’s direct offer process, which is focusing on those in temporary accommodation.”
A Lambeth council spokesman said: “The shortage of family-sized accommodation and the need to use temporary accommodation is driving our need to make huge savings as a council. Homeless households supported by the council have increased by 50 per cent in the last two years and the cost of housing homeless households in overnight accommodation is expected to reach £100 million this year.
“Direct offers are helping to get some of these families, who are amongst the vulnerable people in our borough, into stable housing. Homelessness represents the largest single driver of London boroughs’ current financial pressures.”
