Portsmouth City Council Highlights Temporary Housing ‘Crisis’

Portsmouth City Council, which is contending with a £5.6 million budget deficit, has called on the government to tackle a “significant crisis” in temporary housing. The council in Portsmouth noted a 54% increase in households placed in temporary accommodation over the past year, with current figures exceeding 500. Deputy Leader Darren Sanders cautioned that without an immediate financial injection, the council might be forced to reduce services to cover the shortfall. In the government’s recent budget announcement, it was stated that an additional £233 million would be provided to “help prevent future rises of families in temporary accommodation” across the country. Mr. Sanders commented that the council was “yet to see what that money means.” Temporary accommodation provides support to individuals in various situations, such as those who have been evicted or are escaping domestic abuse. Mr. Sanders asserted that there was a “national homelessness crisis,” attributing it to surging demand and the increasing cost of providing accommodation. According to the Local Government Association, the number of households nationally living in temporary accommodation has risen by 89% over the past decade. “We’ve been very lucky in Portsmouth in that we’ve managed to mitigate that through our policy of buying back council homes,” Mr. Sanders stated. He added, “However, over the past few weeks, it’s become clear that we are now facing a significant crisis in our temporary accommodation.” Portsmouth City Council reported that while exact figures change daily, more than 500 households are currently in temporary accommodation, compared to just over 300 at this time last year. The council identified the primary causes in Portsmouth as the ending of private rented tenancies, eviction by friends and family, and domestic abuse, noting that a lack of affordable housing and increasing private rents contribute to the problem. “What we want to do is ask the government to… make it easier for us to deal with the problem,” Mr. Sanders said. He further explained, “We’ve got ideas for the longer and medium term but we’ve got a short-term crisis.” He indicated that “financial certainty” would enable the council to be “creative” in solving the problem. “Extra money, for instance, could help us buy empty homes,” he suggested. He concluded, “That’s the sort of stuff we want to do.” A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) stated that they had “inherited devastating levels of rough sleeping” and were allocating another £233 million to “help prevent future rises of families in temporary accommodation” nationwide. They added, “This takes total spending on reducing homelessness to nearly £1 billion in 2025-26.”