The number of homeless families being housed in hotels and B&Bs over the legal limit by English councils has doubled within a year, figures reveal.
The latest figures released by the government show 1,210 families were in hotels and B&Bs for longer than the six-week legal limit between 1 July to 30 September in 2022, up from 570 in 2021 for the same period. These are the highest figures since 2017.
A total of 11,490 homeless households spent time in hotels and B&Bs in the same period in 2022, the highest number since 2003.
The problem is particularly acute in London. According to data from London Councils, there was an 180% increase in families being housed in hotels and B&Bs for more than six weeks from 2021 to 2022.
Families living in B&Bs and hotels often have no access to cooking and clothes washing facilities and have to pay for laundry, storage services and takeaway food.
Piotr Rembikowski, 46, has been living with his wife, Madga, 44, and two sons aged 15 and 20 in a Travelodge in Enfield since August last year. They are one of 200 families currently being housed in commercial hotels by Enfield council.
Rembikowski is a wheelchair user and has a reconstructed bowel after suffering from colitis. He was made homeless after his privately rented property, which the family lived in for 16 years, burned down last year after a fire spread from a nearby construction site.
Rembikowski said he was unable to find another property on the private rental market due to his family’s income and the fact he is on disability benefits. “I called many agencies, but nobody wants to rent to a crippled person in a wheelchair,” he said.
He was told by letting agents he would need to have a household income of £54,000 to rent a three-bedroom home. He reported the family as homeless to Enfield council, and they were housed in the Travelodge.
Rembikowski has turned down food at the food bank because they have nowhere to store or cook the food. Due to his reconstructed bowel, Piotr usually has a strict diet, but the lack of cooking facilities means he has had to rely on dry or takeaway foods. “It has badly affected my health,” he said.
He spends £50 a week to wash his clothes at a nearby Morrisons and has to pay for storage for the belongings that survived the fire. “I have had to borrow money from family members,” he said.
Sylvia Natukunda, 43, has been living in a room in the Travelodge with her husband and two sons, Simon, 14 and Stephen, 13, since December last year after their house caught fire.
They have to move rooms every 28 days due to Travelodge policy. Natukunda, a care worker, and her husband, a nurse, both work irregular shift patterns including nights.
The Travelodge is situated next to the A10. As she and her husband often sleep during the day after coming home from work, her sons have little choice but to stay in the room and be quiet. “There is nowhere safe for them to play outside,” Natukunda said.
Paula Barker, the shadow minister for homelessness and rough sleeping, said: “These latest figures should shame the Conservative government.
“Too many families are placed in unsuitable accommodation such as bed and breakfasts and far too many children find themselves there for longer than the six-week statutory maximum. The effects on these children are profound.”
An Enfield council spokesperson said: “We are competing with 21 other London boroughs and the Home Office who all look for homes in Enfield … at least 6,000 homes in the borough are used by other councils and government departments.
“The housing challenges in the borough require national action to address the fundamental shortfall of affordable housing.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities did not respond to a request for comment.
