Setting the standard for temporary accommodation
England needs tougher restrictions to stop homeless people and families living for long periods in unsuitable emergency housing
STRATEGY
Image: Istock
Annie Field
Policy and Research Team Manager, Campbell Tickell
During the pandemic, more than 37,000 rough sleepers and people who were unsuitably housed, were accommodated through the Everyone In scheme. This scheme was rapidly launched in March 2020 and shows how much can be achieved with concerted effort and funding from central government.
However, it largely overlooked one group of people within the homelessness system: those living in temporary accommodation. In fact, it increased the pressure on local authorities to source emergency accommodation; at least 8,300 of those accommodated through Everyone In were still living in emergency accommodation in February 2021. So what are the challenges and potential solutions?
Restrictions
The English homelessness system allows too many people to stay in unsuitable temporary accommodation for too long. Legislation does not do enough to set minimum decent standards. There are requirements set on suitability, but these are insufficient and too often breached.
One restriction is that households with children should not stay in B&B accommodation for longer than six weeks; this is regularly exceeded. In 2020/21, more than a third of English local authorities exceeded this limit. At one point over 200 families in Birmingham had been living in B&Bs for more than six weeks.
This is unsuitable for families, as they don’t have access to private cooking or bathing facilities, and also expensive for local authorities. Councils spent £142 million placing homeless households in B&Bs in 2019/20 – 430% higher than in 2010/11.
Unmet needs
Temporary accommodation is often unsuitable for people in other ways, beyond the legal definition. Many households are placed into accommodation which is too small for their needs – some local authorities even state that households should expect this.
Shelter gathered the experiences of 27 households in temporary accommodation in Hackney, east London. Of those households, 66% of adults shared a room with their children and 85% used their living room as a bedroom. Particularly given how important private space has become during the pandemic, households should not be forced to live in overcrowded conditions.
In numbers
37,000
rough sleepers and people who were unsuitably housed, were accommodated through the Everyone In scheme during the pandemic
8,300
of those accommodated through Everyone In were still living in emergency accommodation in February 2021
£142 million
was spent by councils placing homeless households in B&Bs in 2019/20 – 430% higher than in 2010/11
26,180
households were placed into temporary accommodation in a different local authority area at the end of March 2021 – 82% of these were from London boroughs
“Lower standards are accepted for temporary accommodation on the assumption that households will not spend very long living there, but many people spend months or even years in temporary accommodation.”
Outside local authority
Households are often placed into temporary accommodation outside their local authority area, away from their support networks. At the end of March 2021, 26,180 households were placed into temporary accommodation in a different local authority area – 82% of these were from London boroughs.
Local authorities will try to place households as close by as possible, but many deem placements to be acceptable as long as they are within 90 minutes’ travel by public transport. This can result in households being placed many miles away.
In one example, a man had to quit his job after being moved out of London into temporary accommodation in Birmingham (although in that case, at least, the local authority was found at fault by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman).
Image: Istock
Poor standards
Lower standards are accepted for temporary accommodation on the assumption that households will not spend very long living there, but many people spend months or even years in temporary accommodation.
We should have firmer restrictions in place, to ensure that people are not forced to accept unsuitable conditions to get a place in temporary accommodation.
Unsuitable Accommodation Order
Scotland provides a good example of a potential way forward. Its Unsuitable Accommodation Order means that no household can be placed in temporary accommodation for more than seven days if it is in another local authority, or if it lacks adequate bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens for the household.
This prohibits long stays in B&Bs, hostels, shelters, and commercial hotels. It is not a perfect solution, as it places a significant financial burden on local authorities to source better-quality temporary accommodation. But it would help to improve conditions for people living in temporary accommodation in England.
This Scottish approach should form part of the solution, alongside greater efforts to provide sufficient affordable housing so that fewer households need to access temporary accommodation in the first place.
