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When Sidney was placed in temporary accommodation, he thought it would be for a few weeks. Ten years on, he’s still there.
The number of homeless households in temporary accommodation in England hit a record high in December 2023, reaching 112,660 – up 12% in a year – and includes 145,800 children. Designed as an emergency measure, these range from short-term private rentals to hostels and B&Bs.
Over the last decade, the number of social homes has fallen in the UK by more than 100,000, while private house prices and rents have soared. As a result, rising numbers of people are spending large portions of their lives in temporary accommodation. For some children, it’s all they’ve ever known. In March, The Guardian reported that some are spending their entire childhoods in temporary accommodation and that thousands of families had been housed in it for more than a decade.
The London borough of Newham, where Sidney (not his real name) lives, has by far the highest rates in the country. For every 1,000 households, 53 are in temporary accommodation. The London average is 17 per 1,000, compared with 2.4 households per 1,000 in the rest of the UK. According to data released under the Freedom of Information Act, they face an average stay of over four years.
This is putting a huge strain on already stretched council finances, with the bill in the capital collectively reaching £90 million a month, up 40% on the previous year. The cost to people forced to live like this is even worse.
Sidney is suffering from kidney failure – he’s been stuck in temporary housing for a decade. Last week he had a stroke
Sidney, 61, and his wife Jane were placed in temporary accommodation in 2014 along with their three children, a daughter aged 16, and twins aged 15. Their building, owned by Newham Council, has been earmarked for demolition under a multibillion-pound regeneration scheme for Custom House and Canning Town that was announced in the early noughties, but is yet to begin.
So far, the proposed redevelopment has shown signs of neglect rather than renewal with residents living in limbo and in deteriorating conditions, while plans are hashed and rehashed.
Sidney requires life sustaining home dialysis, due to kidney failure, and despite providing medical documents to the council, Newham has failed to take any steps to provide necessary adaptions to his home. Rooms in Sidney’s current home are too small to accommodate the dialysis machine; an extension or a bigger home is required.
“I’m waking up at 4am for the ambulance to pick me up three times a week, and each dialysis session is 4 hours which is quite depressing. It makes me feel less of a person not being able to manage my health condition with home dialysis.”
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Last week, Sidney suffered a stroke. He feels this would not have happened if he was receiving home dialysis. “I am now travelling home at 11pm after my treatment and this is when I am very weak and need to rest”, he says.
Patients who receive home dialysis have a better prognosis and life expectancy because they can manage their own dialysis and don’t have the extra exertion of travelling to and from hospital.
While the council is now looking for a 4-bedroom property for him, these are in short supply, and there’s no guarantee they will secure another property faster than adapting his 3-bedroom home. “I don’t want the stress of being moved again,” he says.
Residents are Fighting Back
Newham residents haven’t stopped fighting to get out of their temporary accommodation. For over a decade they have been organising under the banner of People’s Empowerment Alliance for Custom House (PEACH E16) to address the multitude of housing issues the community face.
In 2020, they won a hard-fought campaign to transfer hundreds of temporary tenants (managed by the notorious private landlord Mears) into council management. This result came with 60% lower social rents, but tenancies remained temporary. Last year, a petition signed by 90% of residents saw the council agree to invest in much needed repair and refurbishment of homes. Despite this, poor conditions persist.
On a cloudy Saturday, a group of PEACH members gather in a square in Canning Town to share housing advice and plan the next steps for their campaign. One of the biggest victories cited by the group is realising they are not alone. That’s tangible here. There’s food, childcare, and applause here and there for small wins.
The Mould is so Bad in Anne’s Home she Gets Constant Headaches
Among them is 50-year-old Anne (not her real name), who four years ago moved into temporary accommodation in Canning Town with her two sons. They were moved from south London, miles from their family and friends. Her teenage son – then just 12 – didn’t want to leave his school, so travelled an hour each way for two years.
“I thought, oh god where did we end up,” Anne says passing round photos of the ferocious damp and mould that plagues her home. “My son left an open packet of crisps out and the next day it was mouldy. It’s so wet in the building that my salt and spices get damp and clump together, after a week we can’t use them anymore.”
