More than one in 10 children and teenagers from some areas of London are effectively homeless, according to analysis of government data by the Observer.
Comparing the most recent homelessness statistics with official population estimates, 4.4% of under-18s from London – more than one in 25 – were living in “temporary accommodation” at the end of June this year.
But some parts of London were hit particularly badly. Nearly 12% of children and teenagers from Westminster were housed in temporary accommodation, together with just over 10% of under-18s from Newham and the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
They are among the 139,000 under-18s living in temporary accommodation in England – a record high – with more than 82,000 of those from London families.
“Temporary accommodation” is stopgap housing for the so-called “hidden homeless” – people who have been made homeless and then rehoused by their council on an interim basis while waiting for longer-term housing to become available.
Temporary accommodation can include social housing, privately-rented housing secured via paid brokers, hostels and bed and breakfasts. Despite the name, temporary accommodation placements can actually last for months or even years due to the lack of affordable long-term housing, although bed and breakfasts are not meant to be used for more than six weeks.
“These figures are devastating and a unique personal tragedy for everyone involved,” Karen Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North, told the Observer. “Children are forced into frequent changes of school, or must commute across the city, and I know from my casework how deeply damaging this is for their health, schooling and life chances.
“London – and inner London in particular – is on the frontline of this housing crisis because of spiralling housing costs, the underfunding of housing benefit, the slow pace of private rental sector reform and the failure to invest in social housing.”
As a result of the lack of available housing in London, councils place thousands of households in accommodation outside their local area – sometimes hundreds of miles away. Around 2,000 of the 8,596 Newham children in temporary accommodation have been placed outside the Newham area, while nearly 1,900 of Westminster’s 3,608 children in temporary accommodation have been temporarily rehoused outside Westminster.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “A record 139,000 children will wake up this Christmas morning without a safe place to call home, spending the festive season in bleak temporary accommodation that is often cold, mouldy and cramped. It is truly shocking to see just how high the numbers of children forced to grow up like this are in some areas.
“The only real long-term solution to this housing emergency is a commitment to building a desperately needed generation of social homes.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. That’s why we are spending £2bn to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including making £1bn available so councils can give financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation.
“Temporary accommodation is an important way of making sure no family is without a roof over their head, but councils must ensure it is temporary and suitable for families, who have a right to appeal if they think it does not meet their household’s needs.”
