Lambeth’s temporary housing crisis costs private sector £14,000 per person

Three quarters of temporary home occupiers in Lambeth are in ‘pay-by-the-night’ accommodation. This is costing the Council £14,000 a year for each person, according to documents released before the Housing Control Sub-Committee which will meet on July 16.

In total, Lambeth has 4,284 households in temporary accommodation. This is higher than nearby Southwark (3,714), Wandsworth (3,368) and Westminster (3,132). Residents are temporarily accommodated in the private sector.

The council has a statutory duty to provide accommodation to people and families who have a priority need, are legally homeless and meet certain immigration conditions.

The pre-meeting report also shows how 70% of households who needed temporary accommodation in Lambeth last month were sent to another borough. Croydon, Lewisham, Merton, Bromley and Southwark are all mentioned as destinations.

This figure is up from 55% in 2019 and continues to rise year on year.

The report suggests a number of strategies for Lambeth to reduce the need for temporary accommodation:

“Longer leases, reusing our own stock for TA, reviewing our allocation policy and reviewing our approach to offloading to the private rented sector.”

Lambeth is also looking to bring the voids back into public use. These are the council houses that have been left derelict by the Council:

“Working with colleagues from Housing Management, we are using the voids in our regeneration properties at the back as temporary accommodation. Over 70 units have been brought back into service for this purpose since February, with more units in the pipeline.”

Part of the funding also came from the central government. The Department for Upgrading, Housing and Communities has funded £14.5 million to deliver 60 family-sized temporary accommodation units by March 2026. Lambeth is currently looking at possible sites.

Elsewhere on the agenda, private sector tenants are also addressed.

The council maintains that the private sector enforcement and regulations team enforces higher standards in the private rented sector.

The report states that out of a total of 144,985 homes in the borough, 48,695 are in the private rented sector. This represents 33.6% of the total housing stock.

The report adds that 9,446 homes in the private rented sector in Lambeth are predicted to be at serious housing risk.

Lambeth is keen to launch a licensing scheme for borough landlords. Selective licensing will start from September 2024 in four wards. Knights Hill, Streatham Common & Vale, Streatham Hill East and Streatham St Leonards will be the first wards for the trial period.

Private owners will have to pay the Council £923 for a five-year licence. This is broken down into £650 for the administrator and £273 for any possible application.

The plan is to expand this to 19 more wards. Phase 2 of the rollout will cover:

Brixton Acre Lane, Brixton North Ward, Brixton Rush Common, Brixton Windrush, Clapham Common and Abbeville, Clapham East, Clapham Park, Clapham Town, Gipsy Hill, Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction, Kennington, Myatt’s Field, Oval, St Martins, Stockwell East , Stockwell West and Larkhall, Streatham Hill West and Thornton, Streatham Wells and West Dulwich.

Vauxhall and Waterloo and Southwark are missing.