Worthing temporary accommodation rate hits seven-year high
As many as 1,000 households across West Sussex may be seeking a permanent place to live
A freedom of information request shows that the number of Worthing households living in temporary accommodation has reached a seven year high.
At the end of September, 219 Worthing households were in temporary or emergency accommodation.
Of these, 86 were families with children or pregnant mothers.
More than 100 households were placed outside of the district, with the furthest placement being in Dover – approximately 95 miles away.
Households were placed in locations across Sussex such as Adur, Brighton and Hove, Crawley, Eastbourne, and Horsham. Some were living further afield in Medway and Gillingham.
Demand has increased from 29 households needing temporary housing in March 2015 to the September high of 219 households.
1,000 in temporary accommodation across the county
West Sussex homelessness charity Turning Tides estimates that 1,000 people are living in temporary and emergency accommodation across the county ‘for the first time ever’.
The charity has since started a fundraising appeal to try to support these households.
Turning Tides cites a shortage of temporary accommodation, limited affordable housing, and rising numbers of people becoming homeless following the pandemic as reasons for the surge.
Homeless response during the pandemic
Like many local authorities, Worthing Borough Council quickly adopted the ‘Everybody In’ scheme in 2020 which saw those at risk of street homelessness taken in to empty hotels and B&Bs within days of the first lockdown.
Emergency powers were used to approve an initial 13-week contract with the Chatsworth Hotel which cost more than £200,000 and saw 97 rooms become available.
The scheme has since come to an end and the council is currently using other initiatives such as Opening Doors to meet housing demand.
Opening Doors is a free service for landlords which encourages them to let their property through the council.
The properties are often used as an alternative to hotels and B&Bs for those waiting for permanent housing – a short-term solution which interim Adur and Worthing Councils chief executive Catherine Howe called ‘much-preferred’.
66 properties were available through the scheme – 22 in Adur and 44 in Worthing – with additional units on the way.
The council estimates that it will own more than 27 additional local units for temporary accommodation by the end of October.
‘We are not standing still’
A spokesman for Worthing Borough Council explained the challenges.
They said: “A buoyant housing market in Worthing, partly created by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns which has increased demand and seen rising rental costs, is obviously making it difficult for us to source temporary accommodation but we are not standing still.
“A total of 17 new flats converted by the council are now either occupied, or about to be, by those needing temporary or emergency accommodation and a second site will be handed over to us soon for a further 17 while we continue to appraise possible other sites.
“Our award-winning and pioneering Opening Doors scheme is about to deliver 21 more units.”
The spokesman said that residents could be placed in accommodation out of the district for several reasons – including those at risk if they stay within the district.
“All those placed outside of the borough with needs are supported by our housing teams,” they added.
Out of area temporary accommodation in the UK
Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – formerly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – shows that 95,450 households are living in temporary accommodation.
A quarter of these, or 26,170, are living outside of their local area which is a three-fold increase when compared to a decade ago.
Local authorities outside of London have placed 85 per cent more households out of their area in the last three years.