Surge in families living in temporary accommodation during pandemic

The number of people living in temporary accommodation across England has surged during the pandemic, hitting a 14-year high, new research shows.

An analysis of government data by Shelter shows 253,000 individuals – half of whom are children – are homeless and living in non-permanent housing such as B&Bs and hostels – 115,000 more than a decade ago.

The figure jumped by 6,000 in the first three months of the Covid-19 outbreak – prompting the charity to warn that the “economic chaos” caused by the pandemic risked “turbo-charging” the housing crisis.

The number of people experiencing homelessness is also likely to be considerably higher, as many people would be undocumented by councils because they are sleeping rough or sofa-surfing, Shelter said.

Temporary accommodation provided by councils can range from a self-contained flat to an emergency B&B room with shared facilities. One in six homeless households are currently placed into emergency B&Bs and hostels, where poor conditions and gross overcrowding are rife.

The use of emergency B&Bs alone has increased by 371 per cent over the last ten years.  

Alongside the data analysis, Shelter conducted 21 in-depth interviews with homeless families and individuals trapped in temporary accommodation during the pandemic, which found high levels of isolation and a lack of safety.

Nearly everyone interviewed said it was impossible to maintain social distancing, with three people reporting that they had to share basic facilities with people clearly displaying Covid-19 symptoms.

Over half of those interviewed were placed in temporary accommodation out of area, away from jobs, schools and support networks, and several people spoke about feeling lonely, abandoned and forgotten.

More than a third said they struggled to prepare food and eat properly during lockdown because of inadequate cooking facilities, while many also found it difficult to wash themselves and do laundry due to unhygienic or inadequate washing facilities.

One of the people Shelter interviewed was Jenny, who is living in temporary accommodation in South West London with her two young children, aged one and three. According to the charity, the “tiny, self-contained” flat was in “extremely poor” condition.

Jenny told the charity: “It’s a complete nightmare. We don’t feel safe, it’s always noisy, you don’t know who you’re living next to. The police are always around – someone tried to break down our door once, which was terrifying. It’s so difficult to do simple things like your laundry.”

She explained that due to the small proximity of the apartment, her children slept on the sofa and had “barely any space to eat – let alone play”.

The single mother added: “Being so far from Jack's nursery and having to wake up at 5am to get there makes things much harder. This is no place to bring up a family. I worry constantly about what impact this is having on them.”

Another person interviewed, named Far, who was moved out of his local area to a hostel in Harrow and has lived alone in his “cramped” room for a year, leaving him feeling isolated and anxious.

“The place is filthy. We have one bathroom for 20 people, but it’s not clean enough to use half the time. There’s never toilet tissue or soap. When coronavirus arrived, it was so stressful worrying about keeping clean and safe living in a place like this,” he said.

Far said he felt unsafe in the share accommodation during the pandemic, adding: “There were residents walking around who thought they had coronavirus and didn’t wear a mask. I wait until the middle of the night to make food, when the kitchen is empty and not full of people.

“I no longer cook hot meals as social distancing is impossible. I mainly eat basic things in my room. I feel like I’ve been exiled, and nobody seems to care.” 

The report also revealed that more than two-thirds of all homeless people living in temporary accommodation were in London – equating to one every 52 people in the capital.  

Within the capital, Newham has the highest rates of people in temporary accommodation – at a rate of one in 23 – followed by Haringey – at one in 28 – and Kensington and Chelsea, where one in every 29 people is homeless. 

It comes after London Councils, a cross-party group representing all 32 boroughs and the City of London, warned that homelessness pressures in the capital were approaching their “worst-ever levels”, with 89,850 children in the city set to spend Christmas in temporary housing.

Responding to Shelter’s report, shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire said the number of people spending Christmas without a safe and stable home was “devastating”.

“Homelessness had already doubled under the Tories. Their irresponsible mismanagement of the Covid crisis threatens to make this even worse, with unemployment expected to spike next year and one in three families with children already worried about paying the rent,” she added.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said the figures were “shameful” and highlighted a “chronic lack of social homes” in England.

“Many people will spend Christmas in grim, dangerous places, cut off from loved ones and faced with a daily struggle to eat or keep clean. This year has been unbelievably tough, but with the public’s generous support we will do our best to give hope and help to everyone who needs us," she said.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation is a priority for this government. This is why we are investing over £750m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping next year.

“Our Homelessness Reduction Act has helped over 270,000 households who were homeless or at risk of homelessness into more permanent accommodation, since it came into force in 2018.”