Westminster Council approves £139mn purchase of additional homes to provide temporary accommodation

Westminster Council has approved an extra £139mn in funds to buy temporary accommodation (TA). The money will go towards purchasing 232 properties, prioritising those within a 30-minute journey from the borough.

A “reprofiling” of the money through the medium-term financial planning process was approved at a Cabinet meeting Monday 18 December. Councillors also approved three of five “bulk purchases” of properties by the council.

The purchase of the other two have been delegated to the executive director of finance and resources. A bulk purchase is defined as a transaction to buy a portfolio of properties or a multi-unit block, according to a council report.

Addressing colleagues on Monday, the cabinet member for finance and council reform, David Boothroyd, said: “Had the council not acted decisively, the costs of providing temporary homes would have meant cuts on other service areas. Part of the long-term plan to deal with the issue of the crisis is to acquire suitable properties, including securing the future of some homes where the council is currently housing temporary tenants.”

The committee also heard how the purchase of all 232 properties is expected to be completed by April 2025. The council said it is prioritising properties with two or more bedrooms. The Cabinet also approved an increase in fees and charges for services across the borough.

Information relating to the properties, including their cost, has been restricted from the public on the grounds it is commercially sensitive. Westminster Council already has in place a £178mn five-year programme to buy temporary housing.

A report by the council states it has experienced an increase of over 30 percent of households approaching them for housing support compared with 2022-23. It has also seen costs jump from £4.5mn in 2021-22 to a budgeted £50.5mn this financial year.

The council said the steep increase in costs posed a “significant” financial risk as funding from the Government and City Hall failed to meet demand. The same report shows the purchases include buying from the open market and partnering with other local authorities to purchase properties. They will also use limited liability companies.

The council said it is seeking homes within a 30-minute journey by bus of the borough’s boundary “in the first instance”. It comes as between 2017-18 and 2023-24, homelessness applications surged by 302 percent, with main duty acceptances increasing by 126 percent.

A Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) recently found dozens of families were being sent miles outside of London by the council because the authority does not have enough temporary accommodation locally.

Since 2020, Westminster Council has sent people as far as 33 miles away to Southend-on-Sea, and up to 23 miles away to North Hertfordshire and South Bucks. The LDRS also found the council was using temporary accommodation in Thurrock, Slough, Epping Forest and Hertsmere.

Some 266 people are living in out-of-borough TA in 2024, with one person found to have lived in Southend-on-Sea since 2006 despite the property being considered “temporary”. A household of eight has lived temporary accommodation in Thurrock since 2014 while another household of five has been there since 2012.

The council said it seeks to maximise the amount of temporary accommodation in the borough including by directly purchasing and securing private sector properties, adding that 40 percent were in the borough.

Westminster Council, Cabinet, Monday 16 December 2024.

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