MP calls for action on out-of-borough placements

The approach puts extra pressure on the services provided by local authorities where the households are placed, as well as taking housing options away from local people. Councils also often fail to notify the host local authorities.

Before being elected an MP in the 2024 general election, Ms Khan was portfolio holder for housing and property at Medway Council. Inside Housing’s investigation found that Medway was receiving the most homeless households from London councils.

Ms Khan said the way out-of-borough placements was putting pressure on local authorities outside London was “often a tragedy bordering on farce”.

She said: “In my constituency, Gillingham and Rainham in Medway, out-of-borough places are becoming an increasing problem.

“Not only does it impact housing supply and create artificial rent inflation in the local market, as Medway residents and the council are priced out by management companies and landlords who directly approach struggling London authorities willing to pay two or three times the average local rent, but there are also additional pressures, as the support required by families is placing strain on already creaking local services, such as schools, health care and children’s services.”

Alongside central government action, she said information-sharing across authorities could improve to provide better support for residents and alleviate the burden on local resources in the short term.

She said the deeper dive into the impact of out-of-borough placements on host authorities “could also be a helpful starting point and would give an opportunity to identify potential solutions, such as a more equitable method to calculate funding”.

There is also a significant impact on the people being sent away.

Ms Khan highlighted a case of where Croydon Council placed a mother and her seven children into temporary accommodation in Medway following a homeless application.

The woman’s family network was in Croydon. After being placed, she contacted Medway Council to raise concerns about the temporary accommodation she was in, saying it was not fit to live in.

Despite its housing team not being able to help directly because she was not under Medway’s housing need, the council checked the property and found it was unsafe, with exposed electrics next to a water source.

A Medway councillor contacted the private landlord, who blamed the family for the condition of the property, saying she had caused the problems deliberately.

The councillor wrote to Croydon several times about the situation, but was ignored.

The councillor then wrote to Sarah Jones, MP for Croydon West, saying the council was not responding and asking whether there was anything she could do. Ms Jones, in turn, contacted Croydon.

However, Croydon Council then wrote to the woman, telling her it was withdrawing its duty to give her temporary accommodation because she had “deliberately” caused damage to the property. This happened without any independent investigation into what happened. She was given two days to leave the property.

Medway’s housing team told the woman to stay and not give up the keys, because that was now a situation to trigger housing need, and that they would step in after that.

However, the woman became panicked and was worried she would not get back to Croydon, where her family was. So she travelled back to Croydon to present as homeless, but the council did not help.

The woman then rang Medway, who arranged for her to stay in a hotel and paid for it.

Eventually, senior staff at Medway were able to speak to Croydon’s chief executive and Croydon placed her in accommodation in the borough.

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said it was sorry to hear about the woman’s experience.

They said: “Like many London councils, we face limited local housing options, so sometimes we need to find temporary housing outside the borough to meet demand.

“We aim to place households as close to Croydon as possible, considering factors like schooling, support needs and family ties.

“We are committed to working with local authorities like Medway Council to make sure residents’ safety and well-being come first.

“We will continue to support [her] with her housing needs.”

According to the latest data, Croydon has 3,483 households in temporary accommodation, of which 65% are housed in the borough, 29% in other London boroughs and 6% outside of London.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, wrote to all councils this week on the issue.

They said: “We are aware some local authorities are relocating people without notifying the new councils, putting a strain on resources and housing.

“This is why the deputy prime minister this week wrote to all councils reminding them this is a legal requirement which must be met.

“We are also taking urgent action to accelerate housebuilding so that people are no longer relocated away from their local areas due to housing shortages.”

Dan Swords, leader of Harlow Council, told Inside Housing in February that at least 2,000 people being housed in temporary accommodation in Harlow had been sent there by other local authorities.