Homeless people are to be forced out of London because councils say they cannot afford to house them in the capital.
They could be sent to Hull, Yorkshire or run-down seaside towns on the south coast because cuts to housing benefit will leave them unable to afford London rents.
Four councils today announced “urgent” plans to buy 150 homes outside the capital in a move that echoes Boris Johnson’s warning that the cuts could lead to “Kosovo-style ethnic cleansing” of poorer people.
Tory-run Croydon said it had been forced into the move with Richmond, Kingston and Sutton councils because benefits will be capped at £500 a week from next April. This will mean about 900 families in Croydon alone will be unable to pay for their housing. The borough plans to target homeless people, saying it will save £300 a week for each one it manages to rehome in cheaper areas.
Croydon says it is suffering “acute” difficulties finding emergency accommodation for homeless people, with the numbers forced into bed-and-breakfast hostels increasing by 200 per cent in a year. Some 429 families were in B&Bs last month and 698 council homes were being used as temporary accommodation.
Dudley Mead, Croydon’s cabinet member for housing, said the joint venture with other councils “offers homeless households somewhere to live on a temporary basis”.
Croydon overspent its temporary housing budget by £600,000 last year because of rising private sector rents, which outstrip the amount available from housing benefit. It has identified “a number of regions” as potential locations after a review of available school places, access to jobs, rent levels and proximity to south London. Yorkshire, Hull and St Leonards-on-Sea are reportedly under consideration.
Alison Butler, Labour opposition housing spokeswoman on Croydon council, said: “What is going to happen to nurses and street cleaners required to do those jobs that mean you have to live close to your work?”
Richmond council said most boroughs were looking at where they can find affordable rents, but “no firm decision has been made”.
