Temporary accommodation in England: Issues and government action

Temporary accommodation (TA) is used by local authorities to meet their legal obligations towards some people experiencing homelessness, in specified circumstances. Accommodation must be suitable and can be in the private rented sector or the social rented sector. It could also be in a hostel, a commercial hotel or a bed and breakfast (B&B) (subject to exceptions/conditions for some household types).

The Institute for Government’s Performance Tracker 2025 shows that demand for TA has substantially increased in recent years. Many local authorities are under serious financial strain because they are increasingly reliant on expensive, often inadequate forms of accommodation in the private rented sector.

Concerns about inadequate conditions in TA and the distance of many placements from the areas that households were previously living in have been expressed by charities and parliamentarians. These experiences can have serious negative effects on households living in TA, especially if they contain young children.

The Labour government’s cross-government strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness, was published on 11 December 2025. The strategy sets out the government’s “long-term vision to end homelessness and rough sleeping and make sure everyone has access to a safe, decent and secure home.” There are multiple commitments aimed at increasing TA supply, improving its quality and strengthening protections for people living in it.

Rising demand for temporary accommodation

Official government homelessness statistics show that TA use has increased significantly over the last 10 to 15 years.

The number of households in TA has reached record levels every quarter for the past two and a half years, rising to 131,140 at the beginning of 2025. This represents a 156% increase compared with the same quarter in 2010, when the figure was 51,310.

Demand for TA is mainly driven by a shortage of social rented housing and the unaffordability of private rented housing for low-income households.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has stressed that a “significant proportion” of the Labour government’s target of 1.5 million new homes must be social and affordable to alleviate the TA “crisis”. The Labour government has acknowledged the role of social housing supply in tackling the “root causes” of homelessness.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates restrict the amount of help towards housing costs that private renters on a low income can get through the benefits system. These rates have been frozen for long periods, creating gaps between benefit entitlements and actual rents. Analysis of private sector rents by Crisis found that, between April and October 2024, fewer than three in every 100 private rented properties in England were affordable for people who relied on Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to cover their rent. The HCLG Committee has referred to the ongoing rates freeze as a “false economy” because while it may reduce benefit costs “it is far more expensive for local authorities to support families once they are in temporary accommodation.”

The National Residential Landlords Association is one of a coalition of 40 organisations that has called on the government to “restore LHA rates to at least the 30th percentile from 2026/27, with a commitment to maintain this level for the duration of this Parliament and increase the benefit cap accordingly.”

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 expanded local authority duties to prevent and relieve homelessness for all eligible applicants, irrespective of priority need. While intended to reduce homelessness, responses to the Conservative government’s call for evidence on the act suggests that it has led to increased TA use.

The government’s National Homelessness Strategy sets out a range of interventions to facilitate a “shift” towards early intervention and prevention including tackling the root causes of homelessness.

Temporary accommodation funding

TA costs have risen substantially. Councils spent £2.84 billion on TA in 2024/25, with net expenditure of £1.43 billion after subsidies and household contributions.

Analysis by the Institute for Government shows that councils’ share of TA expenses (excluding administration costs) has risen, from 7.1% in 2009/10 to 50.6% in 2024/25. This increase is largely attributed to the growing gap between the value of Housing Benefit subsidy for TA, which is mostly capped at 90% of January 2011 LHA rates, and actual TA costs.

London Councils has revealed that London boroughs were spending almost £5 million a day on providing TA in 2024/25.

Costs are influenced by the type of accommodation used: nightly paid, privately managed, self-contained units are now the most common and expensive TA option. Shelter’s analysis of local government spending figures for 2024/25 shows that more than £1 billion (40% of local authorities’ total TA expenditure) was spent on this form of TA.

Research from the Centre for Homelessness Impact argues that local authorities’ capacity to prioritise homelessness prevention and fund other public services is being affected by TA funding shortfalls.

On 19 May 2025, the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, said the government recognised the financial pressures that local authorities are facing and that any future decisions on the subsidy rates “will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the current challenging financial environment at the appropriate fiscal event.”

The government will consider “the best way to sustainably fund good-quality temporary accommodation” as part of its National Homelessness Strategy.

Out-of-area accommodation

Out-of-area TA arrangements have been a growing concern in recent years, with stakeholders and parliamentarians highlighting the negative effect on households, especially children, as well as knock-on effects for local authorities who have to compete for local stock with outside authorities.

At the end of June 2025, 42,080 households were living in TA in a different local authority area, up 11% on 2021. Out-of-area TA is much more common in London. In total, 81% (34,280 out of 42,080) of all out-of-area arrangements at the end of June 2025 were households that had applied to London local authorities.

In April 2025, the HCLG Committee concluded that out-of-area placements “have a devastating impact on families, leaving them far from their extended family, friends, and support network, and causing disruption to children’s education.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the committee that the government expects local authorities to comply with their legal duties but that “in its stewardship function” it has no “formal role in monitoring compliance” with their duties. Instead, it said that councils “are accountable to their local electorate, and we expect local authorities to comply with their legal requirements.”

The government’s National Homelessness Strategy includes a commitment to address poor out-of-area placement practice by clarifying what is suitable and what is expected of placing and receiving authorities. The government also plans to use new data on out-of-area placements to “drive out the use of unsuitable placements.”

Human costs of temporary accommodation

Living in TA can negatively affect health, education and wellbeing. Research has linked poor conditions, overcrowding and frequent moves to adverse outcomes for children, including lower school attainment and increased health risks. Concerns have also been raised about safeguarding in shared accommodation and the lack of enforceable minimum standards.

As part of the National Homelessness Strategy, the government has committed to “eliminate the unlawful use” of B&B accommodation for families, and “strengthen protections” against poor TA conditions. A new duty will also be introduced requiring local authorities to notify schools, GPs and health visitors when a child is placed in TA.

Temporary accommodation statistics

According to the official homelessness statistics, there were 132,410 households living in TA at the end of June 2025. This represents a 7.6% increase on June 2024 and is almost three times the number of households that were in TA in June 2011 (48,330). London accounts for 56% of all households in TA.

The number of households with children in TA declined during the covid-19 pandemic but has risen since 2022. There were 84,240 households with children in TA (containing a total of 172,420 children) in June 2025, 7% higher than in June 2024 and 36% higher than in June 2019.

The number of adult-only households in TA has grown significantly since 2019, partly due to the “Everyone In” initiative that was introduced during the pandemic.

Further reading

The Commons Library research briefing How is temporary accommodation provided to homeless households in England? (December 2025) provides information about the legal framework for providing TA, including the suitability requirements. It also summarises how TA is funded.