Vulnerable family faces seven-year wait in temporary accommodation, as number of households stuck in limbo soars

4 October 2024, 13:04

Kelly (2nd right), her partner and children
Kelly (2nd right), her partner and children. Picture: Supplied

By Kit Heren

A vulnerable family faces a wait of as long as seven years in unsuitable temporary accommodation, one of many stuck in a similar situation as the number of households waiting for a permanent home soars to record levels.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Kelly, her partner and three children are living in a two-bed home in Eastbourne, east Sussex, after losing their private rented property earlier this year.

Kelly is sleeping in one room with her daughters, while her partner is with her son in another.

This arrangement is unsuitable for everyone in the family, especially her 15-year-old son, who is autistic, she said. Kelly herself said she had been diagnosed with manic depression, an older term for bipolar disorder.

They have only been in this situation since July, after their old landlord evicted them to sell the four-bed home they were renting - but they have been told they could be left waiting up to seven years for a local council home with the same number of rooms.

Read more: Councils set to spend over £2bn housing homeless families this year

Read more: Housing campaigners issue warning over rise in holiday homes and call for 5% tax on short term lets

Shelagh Fogarty on the challenges of temporary accommodation

Kelly said local estate agents told her her family wouldn’t be able to rent privately without the right guarantor - and so they turned to the council for help.

Kelly and her family are just one of a record number of households in temporary accommodation - 117,000 across the UK, according to figures released this week - including around 150,000 children.

Temporary accommodation is when a family is housed by a local authority when they have become homeless - often in private rented property leased by the council. That could be a self-contained unit, such as the home Kelly and her family are living in, or it could be a hostel or bed-and-breakfast, often without even facilities to make food.

Across the UK, the most common scenario for a family with children, such as Kelly’s, is that they leave temporary accommodation within six months. But around a fifth are in temporary accommodation for between two and five years, and another fifth are stuck for over five years.

William hopes to ‘ease pressure’ on councils tackling homelessness

Councils, already struggling with massive cost pressures, spent £1 billion between them over the past year on housing people in temporary accommodation.

Councillor Stephen Holt, the leader of Eastbourne Council, the local authority that found temporary accommodation for Kelly and her family, called on the government to do more to slash the number of people in these homes.

He said: “Local authorities up and down the UK are trying to avert a collapse in public services, but if we don’t see decisive government intervention soon, it will be too late.

“We need real financial support to alleviate the immediate budgetary risks and challenges and looking ahead, we are calling for an end to right to buy, reform of the housing revenue account, removal of the 2011 cap on the local housing allowance and the ability to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board at 0%.

“So many district and borough authorities, of all political colours, are in the same boat because the system of funding local government is broken and very sadly, it’s vulnerable people in communities who are suffering most.”

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali said it was “shocking that so many, including families with children, are spending years without a place to call home”.

Since gaining power, the government has introduced several measures that they say will alleviate the housing crisis, such as ending so-called ‘no-fault evictions’.

Ms Ali added that the government would tackle the root causes of homelessness by "putting in place lasting solutions rather than quick fixes".

She said: "We are reversing the worst housing crisis in living history by building 1.5 million new homes and are changing the law to abolish Section 21, no-fault evictions - immediately tackling one of the leading causes of homelessness.

"In addition, we've announced a new dedicated cross government group, tasked with creating a long-term strategy to end the disgraceful levels of homelessness."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Sir Keir Starmer will spend Armistice Day in France alongside British and French veterans at the Arc de Triomphe - before crunch talks with French president Emmanuel Macron about Donald Trump.

Starmer to spend Armistice Day in France - as crunch talks with Macron over Trump victory planned

Liam Payne's Rolex watch is missing as Argentinian police continue to probe the ex-One Direction star's death in Buenos Aires last month.

Tragic star Liam Payne's Rolex missing as Argentinian police continue to probe singer's death

Draft assisted dying laws will have the 'strictest protections in the world' against coercion, says the MP who has proposed the radical bill.

'Strictest protections': Assisted dying bill must be good law says Kim Leadbeater ahead of draft release

A motorist in his 80s has died after his cars went into water next to a Dartmouth lifeboat station.

Man, 80s, dies after car crashes into water near Dartmouth beauty spot

Ukraine and Russia have launched their biggest strikes against one another since the war began

Russia and Ukraine launch major drone strikes on each other as the conflict between the two countries intensifies

Four men have been arrested after nearly 400kg of cocaine was found on a fishing boat off the Kent coast.

Massive cocaine haul found in fishing boat on Kent coast as four men arrested

The shadow secretary for energy has come under scrutiny for her alleged links to JCB

Shadow energy secretary in row over £14k in donations from JCB billionaire during election campaign

A fatal shooting has taken place in south east London

Manhunt underway after shooting leaves one dead and two injured in south east London

One dead and three injured following stabbing at south London market

One dead and three injured following knife attack at south London market

Driver left 'seriously injured' after car plunges into Dartmouth Harbour

Driver left 'seriously injured' after car plunges into Dartmouth Harbour

Duchess Sophie made a sweet gesture to Princess Kate at the end of the Remembrance Day service

Duchess Sophie's tender gesture to Kate as pair appear on Cenotaph balcony in royal return to duties

King Charles leads two-minute silence as he joins 10,000 veterans for Remembrance Day services

King Charles leads nation in two-minute silence as he joins 10,000 veterans at Cenotaph for Remembrance Day service

Suella Braverman claims Nigel Farage would make a 'good ambassador' to the UK under Trump administration

Suella Braverman claims Nigel Farage would make a 'good ambassador' to the UK under Trump administration

Labour minister refuses to confirm US trade deal amid claims UK could be exempt from Trump's tariffs

Labour minister refuses to confirm US trade deal amid claims UK could be exempt from Trump tariffs

Prince Andrew under mounting pressure to reveal mystery financier who helped avoid Royal Lodge eviction

Prince Andrew under mounting pressure to reveal mystery financier who helped him dodge Royal Lodge eviction

James McClean of Wrexham stood away from his team-mates during the minute’s silence before the Sky Bet League One match at SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham. Picture date: Saturday November 9, 2024.

Wrexham player James McClean refuses to stand beside teammates during Remembrance silence