Camden Council is seeking public input on its draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-2030, which builds upon the previous strategy from 2019-2024. The strategy aims to address the root causes of homelessness and provide comprehensive support for vulnerable individuals.

The council's Housing Scrutiny Committee discussed the draft strategy at a meeting on Tuesday 15 July 2025. According to the Agenda frontsheet, Councillor Kemi Atolagbe chaired the meeting. The strategy is a statutory requirement for local authorities, arising from the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The draft strategy proposes four key priorities:

  • Preventing homelessness and rough sleeping
  • Providing joined-up housing, health and social care support that reduces harm and improves health and well-being
  • Securing more housing for people that is accessible, affordable and long term
  • Campaigning for change nationally and sharing learning

To prevent homelessness and rough sleeping, the council plans to:

  • Work with the Debt Prevention team to run proactive campaigns, identifying early indicators of debt and offering preventative support before homelessness risk escalates.
  • Ensure private tenants at risk of homelessness are aware of, and know how to access, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs).
  • Connect people to good jobs, apprenticeships and training via Good Work Camden, and ensure those using the service are aware of how to access wider advice, support and resources that reduce the risk of homelessness.
  • Use data and insights to understand inequalities that lead some groups and communities to being more at risk of homelessness, and provide support through specialised programmes.
  • Continue working with the NHS to provide support for people discharged from hospital and at risk of homelessness, particularly those experiencing multiple disadvantage.
  • Gain a clearer understanding of 'risk points' and 'revolving doors', working with public sector partners like GPs and hospitals, to avoid recurrence of homelessness for those at risk.
  • Ensure that communication with people experiencing homelessness, and between services, is timely, empathetic and effective.

To ensure accessible, affordable, and long-term housing, the council proposes to:

  • Continue to build more social housing and intermediate housing through the Council's Community Investment Programme (CIP) alongside supporting more homes to come forward through our planning powers.
  • Buy more former right-to-buy homes to increase Camden's social housing stock which gives it the flexibility to use existing stock as temporary accommodation.
  • Review the Housing Allocations Policy to consider how social housing contributes to addressing homelessness.
  • Protect houses in multiple occupation (HMO) as many people are unable to access or afford alternative accommodation and use the HMO Licensing scheme to improve conditions in the private rented sector.
  • Grow the 'Housing First' model for the borough, including building 30 Housing First units by the end of 2024/25.
  • Review housing-led approaches to supporting people with multiple disadvantages and care and support needs to maintain independent tenancies.
  • Review and recommission the supported housing portfolio in line with the principles of this Strategy
  • Review how to adapt and provide accessible homes to assist older people, homeless people and other people with care or support requirements to live as independently as possible.
  • Explore ways to expand the Young People's Pathway provision, and provide supported accommodation for homeless young people beyond the care-experienced cohort.
  • Explore a new 'House Project' for care experienced young people, that supports collaborative work to develop shared living skills, access support, and to live independently within a community of support.
  • Continue to invest in more family-type settings for care experienced over 18s, such as 'staying put' arrangements and shared lodgings.

Camden Council also plans to campaign for the following national changes:

  • A comprehensive cross-Government strategy for reducing homelessness and rough sleeping;
  • Additional funding to enable councils to build more of the right homes that are affordable and family-sized;
  • Increasing the rate of Temporary Accommodation Subsidy and Local Housing Allowance to more closely match average private rental costs, to support more people into temporary accommodation quickly where needed, and into more secure long-term housing whenever possible;
  • Introducing an easier method for direct payment of the housing element of Universal Credit to landlords;
  • Providing increased national funding for local authority temporary accommodation purchase to reduce the use of expensive hotel accommodation in emergencies;
  • Reducing the use of short term grants from Government to local authorities to fund homelessness activity;
  • Strengthening and reforming regulation of the private rented sector to improve its affordability, quality and accessibility including ending the use of Section 21 for evictions.
  • Supporting local government to more effectively regulate local housing markets and make them work for local communities;
  • Providing funding to local Councils to support move on from temporary accommodation for those currently in short-term hotel rooms;
  • Continue to press the Home Office for early notification of eviction following asylum decisions to increase our opportunity to prevent homelessness;
  • Providing funding to local Councils to increase the scale and use of Housing First models that combine housing with wraparound health, care and advice; and
  • Local government needs to be part of building the next generation of council housing, looking at all potential models to increase supply.

The draft strategy also takes into account recommendations made in previous years, including the Rough Sleeping Review and the Homelessness Transformation Programme, as well as contributions from councillors on the Housing Scrutiny Committee.

The public consultation is open until 29 September 2025, and the council is encouraging residents, service users, providers and other stakeholders to provide feedback. Following the consultation, the draft Strategy will be reviewed and presented to Cabinet for consideration on 10 December 2025.