Council spending on temporary accommodation has increased by 1,077 per cent in real terms over the past 13 years, new analysis from the LGA reveals.
The analysis shows councils in England spent £6 billion on temporary accommodation between 2011/12 and 2024/25, with more than a third of that total – £2.2 billion – spent in the past two years alone.
The LGA has set out its recommendations for reforming the system in its recently published ‘Homelessness and rough sleeping strategy position statement 2026’. These include uprating subsidy rates to 90 per cent of prevailing local housing allowance levels, increasing the supply of genuinely affordable and social housing, and strengthening homelessness prevention.
Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, Chair of the LGA, said: “Temporary accommodation is a huge leak in council budgets that needs to be patched quickly and, at its heart, transform the lives of families and children across the country.
“The way that councils are reimbursed by central government is not working, and it’s impacting the entire country due to the knock-on effect on budgets and all other services.
“The increasing use of temporary accommodation is not only financially unsustainable for councils, but is hugely disruptive for individuals and families placed in them.
“Ensuring there are sufficient homes for people is the foundation for strong communities. As our plan to tackle homelessness shows, councils are a key player in this effort and we look forward to working with the Government towards this goal.”