The number of children living in temporary accommodation in the UK has reached an 18th consecutive quarterly high, according to recent figures. Housing charity Shelter attributes this situation to a "decades of political failure" that have reduced the supply of affordable social homes.
"Right now, too many children are spending their childhoods in temporary accommodation that is barely fit for a one-night stay, let alone years on end," said Sarah Elliot, chief executive of Shelter. She described families crammed into "freezing and damp" bed and breakfasts, hostels, and "tiny bedsits" that become "boiling" in the summer.
While the total number of households in bed and breakfast accommodation fell by almost a quarter in the year to March, and households with children in B&Bs fell by half, record numbers remain in temporary housing overall. Approximately 1,000 households with children had been in B&B accommodation for longer than the six-week limit, though this also represented a decrease from the previous year.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner acknowledged the welcome reduction in families living in bed and breakfast accommodation but stated that "these figures show there is still a long way to go, with record numbers stuck in temporary accommodation."
The government has also committed an additional £340 million to end rough sleeping.
Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, which allow landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, are slated to be banned from May 2026. However, one perspective suggests that Section 21 is not the primary issue, with the main concern being landlords' ability to significantly increase rental prices beyond what salaries can support. The Labour government has a target to build 1.5 million new homes in England during the current parliamentary term but is reportedly not on track to meet this goal. Former Prime Minister Burnham had previously called for the "biggest council house-building programme since the post-war period" and suggested using the October budget to remove financial barriers hindering councils from constructing more social rental homes.