Bolton Council is set to purchase up to 100 homes in the borough to address ‘acute housing pressures’. The council’s cabinet is expected to agree to set aside £14.5m to acquire properties over the next three years for use as temporary accommodation for the homeless.
High Costs of Hotel Placements
A report to the cabinet revealed that throughout 2024 and into 2025, up to 60 families were accommodated in hotels and B&Bs, with total placement costs averaging £41,000 per week. The report states that this approach could save the council up to £5m over the next 10 years.
The council said buying the properties would also ‘provide higher quality temporary accommodation more suited to our needs and closer to where people need them’ and ‘reduce the short term but significant disruption to people’s lives that requiring temporary accommodation can bring’.
Acquisition Strategy and Funding
The acquisition programme will prioritise one, two and four-bedroom properties, which will be ‘aligned to demand’. The council currently has access to around 320 housing units, both purpose-built and individual properties in private or social housing ownership, used through agreements with owners.
The report to cabinet said: “The council has a statutory duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation for eligible homeless households. Long-term pressures including welfare reform, financial austerity, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have significantly increased the demand for support from the council to prevent and relieve homelessness.”
“As a result, the number of households requiring temporary and emergency housing has increased significantly. This programme will support the department in reducing its costs while further increasing the supply of high-quality temporary accommodation that can flex more readily to changing demand. It will provide greater value for money and better meet the needs of a wider range of people.”
Planned Purchases and Savings
Expected council expenditure on buying homes is estimated at £5.113m in both years one and two, and £1.841m in year three. A contingency of £2.41m is included in the figures, meaning £14.48m of capital expenditure would be set aside for the project.
The initial phase proposes the purchase of 34 homes for temporary accommodation. These properties will be prioritised for family households, based on a mix of 20 family units and 14 single-occupancy units. The programme is proposed to be funded through ‘corporate borrowings’.
The report said the average property acquisition price is expected to be £147,000. By comparison, cumulative nightly paid hotel accommodation costs between £1,500 and £3,000 per day, with less than 20 per cent of that recoverable, making it ‘the least cost-effective and least sustainable form of temporary accommodation’.
