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City council to procure HMOs to reduce B&B and hotel costs
Liverpool City Council is planning to procure houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and studios from private landlords in a bid to reduce the number of people staying in B&Bs and hotels.
City council to procure HMOs to reduce B&B and hotel costs #UKhousingLiverpool City Council is planning to procure HMOs and studios from private landlords in a bid to reduce the number of people staying in B&Bs and hotels #UKhousingCouncillors agreed to procure a range of temporary and permanent accommodation services during a cabinet meeting last week.
They also backed scrapping a plan to buy 400 private rented homes, which had been signed off as a solution to the same problem in February last year.
“This has since proved infeasible due to the lack of in-house housing management function and the council subsequently determining a more efficient method of delivery,” a report for the meeting said.
The new policy follows “unprecedented demand” on the council’s housing services, which officials said is due to a rise in no-fault evictions and rent rises in the city.
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In June, around two-thirds of the city’s 1,635 households in temporary accommodation were living in B&Bs or hotels, and there are only limited permanent move-on options available.
As of April, Liverpool Council was paying £90,000 per night for 1,100 spaces in this type of accommodation.
The council is likely to spend £28.4m on temporary housing by the end of the current financial year. This is a more than 11,000% rise on the cost of this housing from 2019, when it spent £250,000.
Officials said the move to procure private homes will lead to lower nightly rates and means the council can work with landlords to make sure families have access to stable homes.
For every family moved from a hotel to a private sector home, the council could save up to £30,000 per year, according to meeting papers.
However, a “significant” number of homes will be needed to make sure costs are brought down to sustainable levels due to the rate of families needing temporary accommodation, officials added.
Homes the council will acquire through this process will be located across Liverpool, have a minimum tenancy term of one year and potential to become long-term or permanent housing.
Liam Robinson, leader of the Liverpool Council, told the meeting that the local authority will not use landlords that have been involved in issuing Section 21 evictions.
“Equally, we’ll get the right, appropriate spread across the city,” he added.
“[It] won’t just be the same properties in the same places and often putting pressure on deprived communities.”
Councillors also approved a new five-year homelessness strategy for the city at the meeting. The framework will focus on prevention as Liverpool’s rates of this are low, at 17%, compared with 45% nationally.
It includes policies aimed at care leavers, ex-offenders, women with complex needs experiencing domestic abuse, and people with mental health issues.
Hetty Wood, cabinet member for housing, told the meeting that the strategy is about “prevention, dignity and long-term solutions”.
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