Temporary Accommodation Project — in conversation with Rhi

We, at South West London Law Centres, believe that everyone deserves access to safe and decent housing, especially those who are who are vulnerable or experiencing homelessness.
The number of people needing temporary accommodation in London has reached alarming levels. UK Government data shows that 112,660 households were in temporary accommodation between October and December 2023—a 98% increase since 2013. Additionally, CHAIN data from April indicates a 37% rise in people sleeping rough since 2023. This highlights systemic issues that trap families in substandard, overcrowded conditions, threatening their health and well-being.
In response to the growing crisis, our centres have established our Temporary Accommodation Project, an initiative aimed at driving meaningful change in housing policies and practices. Rhi, our Community Engagement Manager, is responsible for spearheading this campaign, focusing on the issues of temporary accommodation and how we can improve the conditions.
With key funding from Trust for London, and the Oak Foundation, who also help us focus on the big picture, we have been able to take a proactive approach, organising monthly Outreach Events and Community Action Meetings, in Wandsworth and Croydon. These meetings serve as a crucial platform for gathering stories from families and individuals in their experience of homelessness, temporary accommodation, and the obstacles stopping them from accessing secure and safe long-term housing.
As Rhi notes, “we are using these action meetings as a test ground to see how our approach can be rolled out in other boroughs, and to bring the issues surrounding temporary accommodation to the attention of policymakers, with the intention of driving change for the people in our community.”
“A lot of temporary accommodation is from private landlords who are letting their properties to the council, and getting quite a lot of money from this in exchange. Council estates that are undergoing ‘regeneration’ such as Central Hill Estate in Crystal Palace have their council owners using their decanted empty properties as temporary accommodation. So as long-term council tenants are being moved out, temporary accommodation tenants are being moved into properties that haven’t been taken care of, with multiple issues of severe disrepair and leaking, leading to mould in the home. Because temporary accommodation is so hard to come by, local authorities are reluctant to place too many regulations, and allow these issues of disrepair to slide by.”
In October 2023, severe maladministration cases surged by 322%, mainly due to extreme delays in assisting vulnerable tenants. As a result, tenants in homes with severe mould, damp, lack of heating, and other disrepair are often forced to remain in hazardous conditions. If they complain or attempt to leave, they risk being declared ‘intentionally homeless’ as local authorities may see this as a refusal of suitable accommodation.
However, those who are often declared ‘intentionally homeless’, are those who haven’t been able to occupy the property due to serious reasons, for example “there are too many people made to share tight spaces in the accommodation that they are placed in. They are sometimes placed really far away from the children, their children’s schools, or their support networks.”
Further to this, research provided by the Financial Times in May 2024 displayed how “the parlous state of temporary accommodation has been cited as a contributing factor in the deaths of 55 children in England”, some permanent social housing also places children at risk, a key example of this being the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, a direct result of mould exposure and landlord neglect; this case sparked the advocation for Awaab’s Law.
“The many children suffering in these conditions has become especially prevalent in my interactions with individuals over the course of the project. We met someone recently who had been given one room for their indefinite temporary accommodation, meaning that the clients’ son had to share a bed with their mother. A son who was going through puberty. All they had been given was this one room, with a few utilities, and an open shower in the corners, and the one bed. Thats all that they had. It is stories like these, and the tragic circumstances of situations like Awaab, that has led to our temporary accommodation project’s heavy involvement in fighting for Awaab’s Law. and its extension to all types of rented properties.”
The campaign goes beyond listening, empowering tenants to take formal steps to improve their housing. Many residents are unaware of their rights, so through our action meetings and interventions, they receive support in filing complaints and seeking better outcomes. In several cases, complaints have led to improved conditions or relocation to more suitable housing, helping individuals who were trapped for years in unsafe environments due to barriers in navigating the system.
However, while we are glad to be able to support our community with temporary housing, “ultimately, we hold the firm belief that this project should not need to exist”. The real focus should be on building more social housing. Currently, people are limited to costly private rentals or sub-par social housing. Data from Shelter highlights that although 11,400 new social homes were reported, this was overshadowed by losses; around 19,000 homes were sold, 3,000 were demolished, and 1,000 were converted into private housing. When local authorities divert people into the private sector, it distorts the perceived need for social housing, allowing governments to justify selling, neglecting, and under-funding these essential homes.
Our Temporary Accommodation project will shift to focus on advocating for better public housing by campaigning local councils. We will push for urgent action on temporary accommodation conditions, homelessness levels, and the necessary new builds to address the crisis.
If you would like to join us in this fight, please consider donating to our organisation, and/or getting involved with our Temporary Accommodation project here, you can also contact Rhi at community@swllc.org.