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London households in temporary accommodation up 50% in five years

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been urged to take action after it emerged that the number of households in the UK capital in temporary accommodation has gone up by 50% in the past five years.

 In the final quarter of 2018, a total of 56,560 London households were in temporary accommodation, with 88,500 children among them, the London Assembly Housing Committee said today.

Families are being placed indefinitely in insecure homes, often of poor quality with no real hope of permanent affordable housing, the committee said.
 
It added that local authorities in the city are struggling to meet the demand for temporary accommodation.

In a report published today the committee called for focused project on the problem to be established at City Hall.

It called on central government to help people cope with the new Universal Credit system.

"Living in temporary accommodation, especially on a long-term basis, is very unsettling, especially for families with children," said former Chair of the London Assembly Housing Committee, Sian Berry.

"A decent home is a human right and there is nothing like being able to lay your head in a space you call home each night without fear for your safety, an impending eviction or yet another move to temporary accommodation.

"The Mayor must do all he can to support pan-London solutions to the crisis in temporary accommodation by working with London councils. He can help them find more secure ways to provide assistance to people facing homelessness who come from all walks of life."

The Housing Committee’s report, "Living in Limbo: London’s temporary accommodation crisis", investigates the rise in demand for temporary accommodation, the impacts and the solutions.

Image: Homeless in Tottenham Court Road, London, September 2018 (Philafrenzy/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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