Building New Council Homes 'Cheaper Than Housing Londoners in B&Bs'

Building new homes for social rent across 10 London boroughs would be cheaper than housing people in B&Bs and temporary accommodation, a new report has found. Analysis by the New Local Government Network (NLGN), finds that if all the families in temporary accommodation across 10 London boroughs were to have new housing built for them, there could be close to 10,000 new units netting the Government savings of £56m per year. It also wants the Government to add its cash into the pot - which the NLGN says would not affect savings - to ensure the new homes could be let at social rents. As ministers prepare to cap the amount of housing benefit families can receive – potentially leaving 64,000 people who currently reside in London unable to afford to continue living there – NLGN calls for the government to examine new house building as a partial alternative. Download a copy of the report from the NLGN website.