Rise in number of homeless families being housed outside capital as London councils forced to look elsewhere

Moving away: More homeless families are being given temporary housing away from the capital.
PA

Soaring property prices has led to a five-fold increase since 2012 in homeless families being placed in temporary accommodation outside London.

Council figures show placements, sometimes as far as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, rose to 551 between December 2015 and April 2016 from 113 between April and June 2012.

Local authorities claim it had been caused by rising temporary housing costs, which have also doubled since 2012.

According to the BBC, London boroughs spent £203 million on per-night rentals in the 2015 financial year, up from £90 million in 2011.

Kate Webb, of housing charity Shelter, said high prices meant “councils are finding it much harder to find landlords that will work with them”.

She said councils are struggling to secure long-term leases on properties to use for temporary homes, so are forced into per-night rental agreements, or to look beyond the capital.

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