Temporary accommodation
Temporary accommodation is provided to households the Council has a statutory duty to house while a homelessness case is assessed or while settled accommodation is found. It includes Council owned units, leased properties and nightly paid accommodation such as bed and breakfast and commercial hotels.
Nationally, local authorities in England spent an estimated £2.3 billion on temporary accommodation in 2023/24, rising to around £2.8 billion the following year, with approximately 132,000 households recorded as living in temporary accommodation. The number of households placed by the Council has followed the same trend.
| Year | Households in temporary accommodation | Of which, nightly paid | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 612 | 96 | £0.81m |
| 2024/25 | 731 | 168 | £0.98m |
| 2025/26 | 847 | 301 | £1.19m |
Nightly paid accommodation is the fastest growing element of temporary accommodation, rising from 168 households in 2024/25 to 301 households in 2025/26, an increase of 79%. Temporary accommodation is now the Council's single fastest-growing area of overspend.
The increase reflects the level of demand for settled accommodation against the supply of permanent housing available to the Council, rather than a change in the number of households approaching the Council for assistance.
Households placed in temporary accommodation are notified in writing of the address, the expected length of stay where known, and how to report any repair or safety issue.