Plymouth City Council could be buying up properties across the city as part of a radical solution to ease the city’s ongoing housing crisis.
Cabinet will discuss a business case next Monday (11 December) to spend up to £10 million and apply for up to £5 million Homes England Affordable Homes Programme grant to buy properties to provide desperately needed homes for Plymouth people as well as tackle ongoing temporary accommodation budget pressures.
Like other cities, Plymouth is facing a homelessness crisis brought about by a combination of factors such as the cost of living and the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic.
These have significantly affected the housing market and people's ability to meet day to day bills – rent, mortgage, utilities, food, travel etc. The continued impact of rising inflation and the lack of affordable housing has resulted in further demand for housing and homelessness services.
More families and individuals have found themselves homeless because of a declining private rented sector, with landlords selling up or increasing rents to meet their own rising costs. There are fewer homes available in the social housing sector due to homes being sold off and delays in building new houses due to construction costs and labour shortages.
As a result, there’s been a massive increase – 158 per cent – in demand for temporary and short-term accommodation, with families staying longer in temporary accommodation as there are fewer permanent homes to move into.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities, said: "The situation is desperate. Plymouth is experiencing a record amount of people approaching the Council for housing support.
“We are now seeing families with jobs, with children who find themselves simply unable to find a place to live. Landlords are selling up in record numbers, mortgages are going through the roof as well as rent. We have been talking to property agents and for every home that comes up to rent, there are over 100 enquiries.”
The business case proposes using service borrowing of £10 million and a Homes England grant of between £3 and £5 million – if the Council’s bid is successful. As well as providing homes, investing in properties could reduce the amount the Council spends on temporary accommodation by over £1 million a year.
Councillor Penberthy said: “We are in this insane situation where the average annual cost of a B and B room is £21,797. That’s a room – not a flat or a house – and it’s a room that no one wants to be in.
“If we buy properties and rent them out, these will not only create homes for Plymouth families who have been made homeless but will massively reduce the amount of money we have to spend on B and Bs and other temporary accommodation such as hotels. We need to take decisive action to address this problem.”
Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Finance said: “This is a sensible way to make people’s lives better and to help tackle a budget pressure which will only get worse. We have to do something as this is just awful for families caught in this situation. You are talking about families living in single rooms, with no access to cooking facilities, very little privacy and no space.”
The Council has developed an acquisitions strategy and will work closely with developers and registered social landlords. The aim is to look at new builds in the first instance as this would not affect the existing housing stock. New builds also have a 10-year building guarantee as well as a good standard of accommodation.
Other options including renovations using a specialist company to buy and renovate properties. Once the properties have been acquired, there will be a need for a housing management and maintenance service. The costs of this have been factored into the financial modelling.
Properties acquired will be classified as supported accommodation and the Council will provide a family support service, which will help strengthen family stability through improved relationships, financial stability and help to secure more permanent housing and access to services.
In the long term, it is expected that these properties will become available for general social housing. If successful with the grant application, Homes England will fund a proportion of the purchase price, however, the houses will be 100 per cent council owned.
The facts and figures
- 158 per cent increase in demand on temporary accommodation since 2019/20 (from 160 households in 2019 to 413 households in 2023)
- Available social housing lets has dropped by 36 per cent over the last five years
- In 2022/23, the number of households in significant need of an affordable home (Band B and C) outstripped supply by 2,575
- More households presenting as homeless or at risk of homelessness and staying in statutory temporary accommodation for longer.
Households are increasingly placed in costly night paid accommodation. The impact is significant to with a forecast £2.4 million pressure next year 23/24