Croydon Council is implementing measures to address concerns over the quality of temporary accommodation and improve the experience of residents. The Housing Assurance Board met on Monday, March 9, 2026, to discuss updates on homelessness services, including a focus on temporary accommodation standards and a new landlord scheme.
Concerns have been raised regarding the quality of temporary accommodation, including Poor standards amongst some Private Sector Landlords
, an Unmanaged portfolio of temporary stock procured in the private sector
, and the Overuse of commercial hotels and families living in shared facilities for more than 6 weeks
.
In response, the council has developed an approved landlord scheme to set rigorous standards for landlords. Actions have also been taken to end the use of commercial hotels and shared facilities for families for extended periods. The council is Procuring quality accommodation at Zodiac House and Red Clover
and has developed a Placements Policy to set criteria for out of Borough placements
as alternative solutions.
The meeting information states that Occupancy checks carried out on 3,200 properties - 2,940 in occupation, 97 recovered and ongoing BAU investigation on the remainder
. It also mentions that Cabinet has also approved a number of strategies and policies including a Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy, Housing Allocation Policy and Placements Policy for temporary and private rented sector accommodation. Taken together these actions and tools has resulted in the number of households in temporary accommodation has reduced from 3665 at the end of March 2025 to 3287, a 10% reduction
.
Further details on the council's approach can be found in the Public reports pack for the Housing Assurance Board meeting on March 9, 2026 Public reports pack.
