A new scheme to reduce the amount spent on expensive temporary accommodation has saved a London council nearly £1m in two years.
Enfield Council set up the Housing Gateway company in 2014 to purchase family homes in the borough. These were then used to house vulnerable families until they could find alternative accommodation.
Since March 2014, the company has purchased 180 properties and reduced the council’s nightly accommodation costs by £968,585.
Enfield Council's cabinet member for housing and housing regeneration, Cllr Ahmet Oykener, said: ‘The reality is that in recent years the demand for housing in Enfield has sky rocketed and simultaneously we have found other London boroughs placing families in temporary accommodation in Enfield because it is cheaper than in their own borough.
‘That meant we had to do something radical and we have – in creating Housing Gateway. This project has been a huge success in significantly reducing our costs in this area and enabling us to spend our budgets on the vital services our residents depend upon.’
