Committee publication · Report · 22 April 2026 · HC 1831

5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation

From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee

Government response deadline: 22 June 2026

Summary

This report examines housing conditions in temporary accommodation across England, following the committee's April 2025 inquiry into children in temporary accommodation. It documents widespread poor conditions including damp, mould, infestations, overcrowding and lack of basic facilities. With 134,760 households (175,990 children) in temporary accommodation as of September 2025, the committee recommends mandatory inspections, full application of Awaab's Law by 2028/29, phasing out shared facilities within six weeks, and publication of national quality data from 2027/28.

Key findings

Temporary accommodation is often unfit for human habitation, with widespread damp, mould, pest infestations, and serious health hazards reported as commonplace across properties.
Numbers in temporary accommodation reached record levels: 134,760 households including 175,990 children as of September 2025, with no signs of crisis abating; families typically spend 2–5 years in accommodation meant to be temporary.
Government spending on temporary accommodation reached £2.8 billion in 2024/25 out of £3.7 billion total homelessness spending, but no routine official statistics on physical condition exist, limiting accountability for public expenditure.
Absence of mandatory inspections and inconsistent regulatory standards leave temporary accommodation largely unmonitored; privately rented temporary accommodation has no equivalent to the Decent Homes Standard currently applied to social housing.
Committee recommends mandatory council inspections, mandatory application of Awaab's Law and new Decent Homes Standard to all temporary accommodation, restriction of shared facilities to maximum six weeks, and establishment of 10-year local supply plans by councils.

Recommendations

Require councils to carry out mandatory inspections ensuring properties used as temporary accommodation meet the needs of all household members, are free from hazards, and are in decent condition.
Ensure Awaab's Law is fully applied to temporary accommodation, including all applicable significant and emergency hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, by end of 2028/29.
Update legal standards for statutory overcrowding to better reflect the needs of children.
Introduce interim milestones to ensure the sector is ready to fully comply with the new Decent Homes Standard by 2035.
Amend the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 to restrict placement of families in accommodation with shared facilities to a maximum of six weeks.
Eliminate placement of families, including single women with children, in accommodation shared with single male adults.
Use the English Housing Survey to routinely collect and publish national data on the quality of all types of temporary accommodation from 2027/28 onwards.
Require local authorities to forecast future demand for temporary accommodation and set out 10-year plans for delivering sustainable supply of good-quality, safe, decent temporary accommodation.

Tone

Critical

Topics

homelessnesstemporary-accommodationhousing-standardspublic-financesafeguarding

Key actors

Florence Eshalomi, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Crisis, Shared Health Foundation, Office of the Children's Commissioner, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Notable line

“… government is spending more than ever on temporary accommodation without a good understanding of the quality of provision this money is paying for. This is not acceptable.”

Key Quotes

“When the records are broken every time the statistics come through, not just for overall temporary accommodation but for children in temporary accommodation or any other way you seek to cut the data, there appears to be no way of generating greater political expediency through the statistics, because they are normalised.”
— Matthew Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis · describing the normalisation of record-breaking homelessness numbers

“[…] deal with complaints about homeless households being left in unsuitable housing by councils for prolonged periods. This includes cases where people have been told to stay in their homes despite significant issues with disrepair as well as vulnerable people being placed in unsuitable interim and temporary accommodation.”
— Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman · detailing complaints about temporary accommodation conditions

“This is government money, and from an accounting perspective we are spending money on something we do not know about. It would be like not knowing where our schools are.”
— Joe Lane, Deputy Director of Projects at the Office of the Children's Commissioner · addressing the lack of official statistics on temporary accommodation quality

“"significant proportions of children are spending significant proportions of their childhood in temporary accommodation" and that this is almost becoming "normalised" in parts of the country.”
— Shared Health Foundation · describing the long-term impact of temporary accommodation on children

“Too often temporary accommodation was so poor as to be unfit for human habitation. This remains the case.”
— Committee · assessing conditions one year after previous inquiry

View original document →

Source · parliament.uk record ↗