Proposal to lease a property to provide emergency and temporary accommodation for homeless households approved

Today, Tuesday 17 September, Southampton City Council’s Cabinet has approved a plan to house people in need of emergency accommodation in a leased property

This initiative joins together the Homelessness Prevention Programme, which sits within the Resident Services portfolio, the wider 'adapt | grow | thrive' transformation programme, and represents a critical shift in addressing homelessness within the city. The council aims to create sustainable housing solutions, improve service efficiency, and deliver better outcomes for those at risk of homelessness.

The property consists of 16 studio flats for emergency nightly paid accommodation and eight studio flats for use as temporary accommodation for a three-year period. The approval to enter into a lease will offer households a secure interim living environment while they transition to permanent housing.

The council has a duty under the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 to secure temporary accommodation for homeless households in certain circumstances, for example, whilst homelessness enquiries are undertaken or until suitable accommodation can be found under the main housing duty.

The number of homeless households approaching the council as homeless has increased by 64% since 2019 - 2020 and by 14% in the last 12 months. This combined with an unprecedented period of economic disruption has unsurprisingly led to increasing numbers of households being accommodated by Southampton City Council in temporary accommodation.

Because of the heightened demand, the councils spend on emergency accommodation, including bed and breakfast and nightly accommodation comes at a significant cost. By entering into a lease of a property for use as emergency.

This approval will enable the council to establish eight additional units of temporary accommodation for longer-term placements until households are permanently housed. A dedicated, self-contained property for emergency accommodation will accelerate the relocation of households from unsuitable placements, such as hotels, compared to circumstances where such a property is unavailable.

Councillor Andy Frampton, Cabinet Member for Housing at Southampton City Council said:

“Cabinet has approved this decision to enter into a lease agreement for a property that helps meet the rising demand for emergency and temporary accommodation which is an issue that many local authorities are having to deal with.

“Financial pressure has been placed on local authorities because the subsidy level that we have been able to claim for these households has unfortunately been held by the last government at the equivalent of the 2011 Local Housing Allowance.

“We will continue to assist those families that approach the council with a request for temporary emergency accommodation. The council will always meet its legal obligation in this regard”.