Ealing Council defends spending £105m on temporary accommodation over three years

Image: Ealing Council offices

Ealing Council spokesperson says all council budgets are in “deeply perilous position” by supporting the homeless

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Ealing Council spent £105 million on temporary accommodation over the past three years, including the use of hotels and bed and breakfasts.

Data from Personal Injury Claims UK shows that in 2023/24, the council spent £37,870,323 to provide temporary accommodation for 3,013 households. In the preceding years, the expenditure was £33,414,791 for 2,540 households in 2022/23, and £33,728,711 for 2,295 households in 2021/22.

The rising demand for temporary accommodation stems from increasing homelessness due to unaffordable rents and landlords selling properties.

An Ealing Council spokesperson said:

“All councils’ finances are now in a deeply perilous position, partly due to the spiralling cost of supporting people who are homeless. In London, councils collectively spend £4 million daily preventing homelessness.

“In recent years, we’ve seen unprecedented numbers of residents seeking emergency housing. On average, we’re temporarily housing around 3,000 families each month.”

The spokesperson added that Ealing faces particular challenges due to its desirability as a place to live, combined with a severe lack of affordable housing. The borough’s population increased by 15% between 2013 and 2023, while private rents have nearly doubled in some areas since 2018.

3,000 families on waiting list for social housing, Ealing Council says

Changes in tax rules, buy-to-let mortgages, and lettings laws have driven many landlords out of the rental market, with the number of private properties available to rent across London falling by over 40% since 2017. Combined with inflation and a freeze in local housing allowance, this has rendered most privately rented homes unaffordable for low-income households.

“Council rents are, on average, a quarter of their private equivalents,” the spokesperson added. “But with almost 3,000 families on the waiting list for social housing, there simply aren’t enough homes to meet demand.”

The council noted its previous success in reducing reliance on bed and breakfasts for housing families. However, due to the overwhelming demand, it has had to turn to expensive commercial hotels. The cost of using commercial hotels rose dramatically, with monthly spending increasing fifty-fold between November 2022 and June 2024.

For 2024/25, the council’s budget for temporary accommodation is just over £13 million, a 23% increase from the previous year. However, forecasts indicate this will be exceeded by a further £9.06 million.

To address the crisis, the council is investing £150 million in new temporary accommodation and running one of the UK’s largest council homebuilding programmes. Other measures include repurposing empty council homes, relocating families to more affordable areas, and supporting residents to remain in privately rented properties.

Despite these efforts, the council warns that the financial strain of temporary accommodation poses a significant challenge to its budgetary resilience.