The leader of Crawley Council has called on the Government to ‘take decisive action’ to address the city’s housing emergency.
Cllr Michael Jones has written to six government departments warning that the level of demand is outstripping the supply of houses for temporary and permanent accommodation.
The local authority’s temporary accommodation costs have risen from £262,000 in 2018 to 2019 to £5.7m in 2023 to 2024.
At this rate of growth, temporary accommodation costs will become half of the council’s net-revenue expenditure in 18 months' time.
Cllr Jones said: ‘The financial impact upon the council has been substantial. As an authority we have made good financial management decisions through the years to allow us to navigate the financial challenges faced by all local authorities.
‘The costs of temporary and emergency accommodation are putting our financial sustainability at acute risk.’
