Sheffield council to consult on five-year temporary accommodation plan

Sheffield City Council has announced it will consult on a five-year strategy for reducing its reliance on temporary accommodation.

The rising use of temporary accommodation, such as bed and breakfasts (B&B), to deal with homelessness has been a major issue across the country, putting pressures on council finances.

According to a decision report presented to Sheffield’s housing policy committee, the reliance on B&Bs and other nightly paid accommodation resulted in financial losses of up to £4.9m in 2023/24.

This is projected to reach £6.6m in 2024/25, and the report said that if the council “do not develop alternatives and sufficient service improvements” then more than 1,300 households could be in B&Bs by 2028.

The draft strategy, approved by the committee, would see 200 additional council properties used for temporary accommodation to end the use of B&Bs by 2027 and resolve the hostel subsidy loss financial pressure.

This would be on top of 442 council properties already used for this purpose.

Of the 200 homes used in the policy, 70 would be for families and 130 for singles.

The council estimates that the approach will reduce the pressure on the Council General Fund by approximately £2.9m for families and £2.2m for single households by March 2027. 

Sheffield’s new strategy comes after a housing service review undertaken last year by Campbell Tickell.

It found that the council’s service had not been reorganised to meet new duties set out in the Homelessness Reduction Act to prevent and relieve homelessness.

It also found that Sheffield that initial assessment processes were insufficient for correct determinations and that there was insufficient prevention activity targeted at the main reasons for homelessness presentations.

A consultation exercise will take place through the Spring, with the final strategy to be brought back for approval in June.