Hackney Council's Housing and Homelessness Scrutiny Commission has reviewed the local authority's ambitious Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation Supply Transformation Programme. The programme, established two years ago, aims to tackle the rising demand for homelessness support and improve the supply of temporary accommodation, with a significant financial investment of £145 million allocated for the 2026/27 financial year.
The commission heard that the programme is structured around three key workstreams: Demand Management, Supply, and Income.
Demand Management
The Demand Management stream focuses on preventing homelessness by understanding its root causes and improving the resident's journey through the service. Specific causes being addressed include eviction from the private rented sector, being asked to leave by family or friends, and fleeing domestic abuse. The stream also involves redesigning the homelessness front door
, investing in staff training, and strengthening partnerships with voluntary sector organisations and other public bodies.
However, a key challenge identified is a 29% decrease in successful prevention and relief outcomes between April to July 2026 and April to July 2025/26. This decrease is partly attributed to private landlords leaving the market following the Renters' Rights Act.
Supply
The Supply workstream aims to increase the availability of cost-effective temporary accommodation through various means, including acquiring properties within Hackney and neighbouring boroughs. Properties are acquired in neighbouring boroughs when opportunities arise outside of Hackney, provided they have good transport links to the borough. While specific boroughs are not listed, examples given in the context of keeping families within London include Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest.
The Council is investing significantly in this area, with a £145 million capital programme budget for 2026/27. Beyond regular inspections, the council's strategy for addressing quality concerns in temporary accommodation includes increasing the supply of cost-effective temporary accommodation that the council either owns or has long-term leases on. This gives the council greater control over maintenance and repairs, ensuring they are carried out in a timely manner and the accommodation is of good quality. The council also aims to stop using providers who do not meet contractual obligations and is tightening the specification around quality in their procurement framework for temporary accommodation.
Income
The Income workstream focuses on maximising government funding by reducing housing benefit subsidy loss. This involves aligning temporary accommodation rents with current Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates and exploring the transfer of temporary accommodation management to the council's housing company.
The council is nearing the end of detailed preparations for managing some of its temporary accommodation through the council's housing company. Legal agreements are currently being drafted, and progress has been made in defining the framework between the council and the housing company, as well as operational process changes. The timeline for full transfer is not specified, but the work is described as nearing completion.
Landlord Incentives and Out-of-Borough Placements
During the meeting, councillors raised concerns about the quality of temporary accommodation, the impact of placing families out of borough, and the effectiveness of prevention strategies. Officers assured the commission that regular inspections are conducted and efforts are made to keep families within London and close to Hackney.
The challenges posed by the Renters' Rights Act and the shrinking private rented sector were discussed, with a focus on developing attractive offers for landlords. The council is reviewing how to work with landlords and develop attractive offers
to incentivize them. These offers are not limited to financial incentives and include exploring benefits of working with the council, tenancy sustainment support, and potentially rental insurance to make households an attractive prospect for landlords.
