London boroughs have spent about £300 million ($367 million) since the start of 2017 buying properties outside their local area for homeless people, a sign of the deep-rooted problems that are leaving councils around the country at risk of bankruptcy.
Cash-strapped local authorities have acquired more than 1,000 homes as soaring rents push more Londoners to crisis point, and historic policies erode the supply of housing that councils have to offer. The figures were released to Bloomberg News under the Freedom of Information Act.
The stark numbers come less than two weeks after then Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that the use of tents for those sleeping on the streets should be restricted, angering Tory Members of Parliament by describing their use as a “lifestyle choice.” Braverman was sacked on Monday following a string of controversial remarks.
Almost 120 council leaders warned earlier this month that the cost of addressing the risk of homelessness is pushing them closer to effective bankruptcy.
Rising rents meant councils in England spent £1.7 billion on temporary accommodation for homeless households in the year through March, a 62% increase in five years, according to charity Shelter. That’s one of the reasons campaigners in the housing sector are calling for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to use the Autumn Statement next week to increase housing benefits.
An additional 60,000 Londoners renting privately-owned properties are likely to become homeless over the next six years if the government maintains a freeze on local housing allowance, according to one analysis.
Campaigners have warned that an increase in so-called “no-fault” eviction notices will further increase the amount of people being pushed into homelessness. The number of notices served in London has increased 35% in a year to more than 8,000, according to the charity Crisis.
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The capital already has the highest proportion of households assessed as homeless in England, government data published earlier this year show.
Many of the councils that responded to the Freedom of Information Act request bought homes in other London boroughs, some through partnerships. Waltham Forest, for example, has acquired 330 homes as part of a venture with housing company Mears Group Plc in London, Essex and Hertfordshire for a total of £82.3 million.
Author: Neil Callanan and Olivia Konotey-Ahulu
