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London council moves hundreds of homeless families out of shared accommodation amid coronavirus crisis
Newham Council is in the process of moving almost 500 households out of shared temporary accommodation and into self-contained units in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
A representative from the local authority told Inside Housing that it had 472 households living in shared temporary accommodation at the start of the crisis, of which 186 were families and 10 were households that included a person who was over 70.
Since the outbreak began, the council has sought to find self-contained accommodation for these individuals – as of today, 304 households have been rehoused.
A council spokesperson said: “This is our own initiative in line with the government’s public safety guidance.
“We immediately ensured that everyone who needed to go to a self-contained home was moved and that they would be able to safely self-isolate if they needed to.”
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Last week, homelessness minister Luke Hall wrote to all councils in the UK telling them to find accommodation for all rough sleepers, the majority of which are now being placed in hotels.
However, charities have warned that more needs to be done to protect families in temporary accommodation who share kitchen and bathroom facilities and would therefore struggle to self-isolate.
Newham Council said it has used a combination of properties procured from its usual providers, as well as some of its own stock, to house those who were living in shared temporary accommodation in the borough.
Families with children under 18 and those with a household member over 70 have been prioritised – as of 1 April, all households within this category have been rehoused.
Newham Council has one of the worst homelessness problem in the country: research carried out by the homeless charity Shelter at the end of last year found that one in every 24 people in the borough are homeless.
Meanwhile, latest government figures show that there are currently more than 13,500 households nationally who have been placed in temporary accommodation in hostels and B&Bs by their council.
