A new hotel in South London will be used as temporary accommodation as demand from homeless families rises. Wandsworth Council is set to enter into a lease with London Housing Group (LHG) to use a new block of 186 units near Tooting Broadway Underground station as temporary accommodation for homeless people in the borough.
A new report by council officers said the move will reduce the authority’s reliance on nightly paid arrangements to place homeless people in temporary accommodation, often in hotels or B&Bs, which are more expensive and unpredictable. The council predicts it could initially save up to £1million a year by moving families currently in its most expensive placements, often outside of the borough, to the block.
The council’s cabinet approved plans to enter into a six-year lease with LHG to use the 186-unit block as temporary accommodation on July 14. The block is due to be completed at the end of the year and each unit will have a kitchen and ensuite bathroom.
The block will have an office for council staff, free Wi-Fi, communal laundry facilities, a study room for children and an outdoor play area. It will have repair services, including 24-hour pest control.
Labour councillor Aydin Dikerdem, cabinet member for housing, said: “It’s a clear opportunity to try and focus on both the quality of the accommodation but also savings to the public purse on the huge temporary accommodation bill, whilst managing to keep residents in borough.”
He added: “We want to make sure that this is a site that works for the local area and works for the families that are placed in it.”
The report said the council has placed increasing numbers of homeless people in nightly paid accommodation since 2023. There were 1,737 families in this type of accommodation in May this year, compared to 1,605 families in May 2024 and 1,439 families in May 2023. At the same time, it added, nightly paid unit rates have increased by 29 per cent since April 2023.
The report added that “with the market being as it is, securing such agreements in return for stability and a reduction in rates compared to most expensive current provision elsewhere, often well outside the borough, make operational and financial sense, not least for the certainty over the period that rates will not further increase”.
The council will place people in the block and collect their rent, which will be capped at 90 per cent of the 2011 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for the location.
