How do we clear the way to unlock more permanent social homes and get people out of temporary accommodation? Wendy Dearden introduces a new research project from the Bevan Foundation.
It’s no exaggeration to say that our housing system is banking up in hotel rooms across Wales. Some 11,692 people were living in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2024, with a third of cases staying in a bed and breakfast or hotel. These numbers continue to creep up pretty much every month and have more than doubled since the end of 2020.
The housing crisis shows no sign of lessening its impact. Our snapshot surveys have shown that a consistently high proportion of the Welsh population feel the threat of becoming homeless. In our most recent survey, 14 per cent of people reported that they were worried about being evicted or having their home repossessed in the three months from January 2024.
Temporary accommodation is used by local authorities to fulfil their homelessness duties. At its best, this is self-contained accommodation provided as short-term private and social lets. At its worst, we’re talking about a hotel room where facilities could be shared, and a whole family could be in the same room. For some, this will be the place they call home not just for a few months, but years.
LIFE-CHANGING
Imagine how life-changing the key to a social home would be. At the Bevan Foundation, we believe that is the only truly affordable, secure and sustainable housing option. Boosting supply and improving access for those experiencing homelessness is key to addressing the human cost of our housing crisis. Historically, a key to a social home would have been the easy answer, but we just don’t have enough for the record 139,000 people on social housing waiting lists.
We’re starting to work with Shelter Cymru to capture the reality of life in temporary accommodation. Over the next few months, a small team of peer researchers, themselves having had experience of homelessness and housing insecurity, will be interviewing people living in this accommodation limbo to inform our case for change.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH OUR SYSTEMS
This is the starting point for our wider project, supported by the Lloyds Bank Foundation, to unpick what’s wrong with our systems around social housing, the supply of it, who it is for and where it sits in our housing market. We’ll be looking to develop workable, innovative solutions to unlock the systemic blockage to building social homes at scale and providing a permanent place to call home for everyone.
The first box to open is supply and delivery. Welsh Government recognises the need to boost supply, but the reality is way behind their ambitions. Progress is slow towards the target of 20,000 additional homes in the social rented sector (2021 – 2026). We’re nearly halfway through and Welsh Government figures reports that only 5,775 properties (29 per cent) have been delivered. It’s important to remember that this figure includes intermediate rentals and shared ownership. We estimate that 4,780 of the homes delivered are let at a social rent.
Our initial focus will be on the availability of land for social housing schemes and the role of the land use planning system. We want to explore the potential of both community and faith-owned land and that held by the public sector to provide land opportunities in the right place at the right price to enable social housing development. We’re particularly pleased to have Housing Justice and Cwmpas to support us and thank the Nationwide Foundation for additional funding to explore this in detail.
People we’ve spoken to already in the sector have confirmed that, just at the time when they are needed the most, social homes are harder than ever to develop. Land is just one challenge which social landlords are experiencing as costs soar and expectations on standards rise. It’s easy to fall into the mindset of ‘we’re doing the best that we can’ but is that a good enough answer to the family living in a cramped hotel room? We don’t think so.
There’s much to do. Our recommendations will be informed by conversations with a wide range of people involved in social housing development either as a landlord, developer or planner. If you’re interested in supporting our work, then please get in touch.
Wendy Dearden is senior policy and research officer at the Bevan Foundation