Havering Council making 'good progress' on reducing housing pressure
Last year, the town hall began drawing up plans to eliminate the use of hotels and bed-and-breakfast-style housing.
“Good progress” is being made on moving homeless families out of expensive temporary accommodation, Havering councillors say.
Last year, the town hall began drawing up plans to eliminate the use of hotels and bed-and-breakfast-style housing.
Temporary accommodation is one of the biggest financial strains on the cash-strapped council and led to a £6.1million overspend last year. Havering ended up borrowing £88m from the government in order to balance its 2025/26 budget, as social care pressures also mounted.
At a full council meeting last night, Councillor Natasha Summers, cabinet member for housing need, said the number of families in hotels had dropped from 31 to 22 over the past year.
She added the number of households who had been in temporary housing for more than the legal limit of six weeks was just six.
The council has promoted a series of initiatives, including a pay-to-stay scheme and a programme where residents are given a month’s rent and deposit to help them find their own place to live.
Officers have also looked to the private rental sector to find housing.
Through a separate buy-back scheme, the council has also freed up 51 former social homes for homeless families.
The controversial schemes to convert former commercial buildings in Romford and Basildon, Essex, are also “on the way,” Cllr Summers said.
In December last year, councillors green-lit a plan to convert Chesham House, a former guitar shop, into 55 units. Those in need would be able to stay for between twelve and 24 months.
A similar project to convert the former office block Eastgate House, in the neighbouring county, was approved the following month.
The council hopes 34 families could be living there by February.
Though opposition councillors acknowledged the need for additional housing, they said that former commercial units may not be easily converted into comfortable and suitable accommodation for families.
Alongside using converted office buildings to house families, the council will also build 18 temporary “modular homes” on land off Waterloo Road and Queen Street in Romford.
The site was initially cleared for the Waterloo Estate, a planned estate of 1,380 new homes, but work is not predicted to start for up to seven years.
In response to a question from Labour group leader Keith Darvill, she said she had spoken with officers “a great deal” about early intervention schemes, but did not elaborate further.
The cost of temporary accommodation is a problem across London.
The neighbouring borough council of Redbridge faces similar challenges.
Officers have predicted they may go over budget by £18.5m.