Temporary housing bill for west London borough has doubled in past 10 years

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Service

The amount of money spent on temporary accommodation by Hammersmith and Fulham council has more than doubled in less than a decade – and a charity head has warned of ‘record levels’ of homelessness across the capital.

Data revealed via a Freedom of Information (FoI) request indicates the local authority spent just under £30million on temporary accommodation in 2023/24, a significant jump on the £13.7m in 2014/15.

The council is also allocating more of its overall budget to cover such costs, rising from 1.81 per cent of its total pot in 2014/15 to just over four per cent last year.

The council said years of austerity plus a freeze on the local housing allowance since 2011 had forced authorities to rely on “high-cost accommodation solutions”, although that it is taking action by ensuring 3,000 homes are built or under way over the next few years.

Councils across London have seen temporary accommodation costs rocket over the past decade. In Westminster, recent data showed spending had increased by £34m between 2022/23 and 2023/24 alone, a rise of 55 per cent.

In February, London Councils, the body representing the city’s local authorities, revealed that boroughs are spending £90m a month on homeless accommodation, a 40 per cent hike on the year before.

Hammersmith and Fulham council’s spend increased from £13.7m in 2014/15 to just over £20m in 2017/18. It fluctuated between roughly £19m and £21m until 2023/24 when it shot from £21.4m to £28.9m – a jump of 35 per cent.

The council says local authorities have increasingly depended on the private sector, primarily involving leasing from landlords. In the last three to five years in particular, there has been a noticeable decline in affordable private rental properties, they added, coupled with significant rent increases.

“This has resulted in a substantial shortage of available affordable housing,” a spokesman said. “The diminishing supply has led to a marked increase in the reliance on short-term temporary accommodation, including costly nightly stays.”

Rebecca Purchase, regional head for St Mungo’s Hammersmith and Fulham and Hounslow, said the charity has seen homelessness rising ‘exponentially’ in recent years across London and the country, “with record numbers of people sleeping on the streets, living in temporary accommodation as well as record numbers of households homeless or at risk of homelessness.”

A Hammersmith and Fulham council spokesman said: “After 14 years of grinding austerity – including a Government failure to invest in and build social housing – councils across London are spending a significant amount of their budgets on temporary accommodation.

“We need to address this to find suitable and affordable private rentals for people and families in long-term temporary accommodation, with decent living standards and greater powers to enforce this.

“We are taking action to address this shortfall in social housing by ensuring more than 3,000 homes are built or underway over the next few years.”

Pictured top: Hammersmith Bridge (Picture: Pixabay/M123C)