Dartford Council looks to acquire nearly 140 homes to help homeless families
The local authority says it's dealing with a housing shortage
Last updated 19th May 2025
A council struggling with a shortage of temporary accommodation is looking to acquire 139 new-build homes in a bid to ensure families are not displaced elsewhere.
Dartford council has agreed to start urgent negotiations to use the properties as short term housing for the homeless and in-need residents on its housing books.
It comes as the authority has been losing similar accommodation due to landlords either selling up or hiking the rent.
On April 24, the Conservative-run council’s cabinet met and made the final call on plans to negotiate a 55-year lease on 139 new-build homes in the borough.
A report for the meeting describes the move as its “only option that would deliver results quickly,” and stresses that “the demand for temporary accommodation is rising”.
“The council has had further discussions with companies which specialise in providing homes on a leased basis and was currently considering the details of a preferred proposal which appeared to provide the best value for money and savings on the temporary accommodation budget for the council,” the report added.
“This option would enable the council to bring out-of-borough temporary accommodation placements back into the borough in a prescribed timeframe as well as ensuring that these properties would not be leased to other councils, which was otherwise very likely given the similar pressures faced by other local authorities.”
The homes are split across two blocks on an as yet undisclosed site in the borough, set to be built during the second half of 2026, and leases are meant to start in January 2027.
Dartford council will have the option to buy the freehold on all the properties for £1 at the end of the lease, the report states.
Cllr Jonathon Hawkes (Lab), leader of the opposition, said it was a welcome move to ensure Dartford families are not displaced.”
“Labour supports this scheme as action was urgently required,” he said.
“Homelessness skyrocketed under the last Conservative government which led to a situation in Dartford where the majority of families presenting as homeless, many evicted from rental properties for no fault of their own, are being housed outside of our borough – sometimes as far away as Dover.”
It comes as the council’s housing woes amplified this year.
In February it was revealed the council was fast losing emergency accommodation, leaving it struggling to “proactively prevent homelessness”.
Most local authority temporary housing is not owned by councils directly, but rented instead from private landlords.
But the landlords from who Dartford council rents some of its temporary accommodation were looking to hike the rent they charge the council, sometimes by £500-£600 a month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed.
Alongside increasing numbers of homeless people in the borough, it left the authority struggling to help them all.
Cllr Hawkes added: ”This scheme is welcome as it will mean more families can stay in Dartford, which will mean children’s schooling isn’t disrupted and parents can still get to their jobs.
“The step that will really make the difference is the Labour government taking action to outlaw section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – these are a major driver of homelessness in Dartford.”
In March the authority’s bid for government support to purchase 20 homes for the homeless and refugees was snubbed, and Dartford council ended up spending £1.7m to acquire just four homes instead.
Nearly £1m of that was from Dartford council’s own reserves.
The cabinet agreed the head of housing enter into negotiations and the lease be secured, as long as it provides the “optimum deal for the council and value for money”.