Newham Council to buy 63 flats in Dagenham to house care leavers and families in temporary homes
Newham Council is buying 63 flats in a neighbouring borough that will be lived in by young care leavers and families staying in temporary accommodation. The council hopes the flats, which are located in a new purpose-built residential development on Oxlow Lane in Dagenham, will help to reduce temporary accommodation costs and ease some of the demand for suitable homes.
The building project is expected to be completed by December this year, and residents will be able to move into their new homes from spring next year. Forty three of these flats will be for care leavers who are ready to live independently but are unable to get on the list for social housing and cannot afford or access private rented housing, while the remaining 20 flats will be lived in by families who are currently staying in temporary accommodation.
In May 2024, the council recognised being in care as a protected characteristic and agreed to give more support to those in care or leaving care by reviewing all of its policies to prevent further stigma or discrimination which they often face. Newham currently has 130 care leavers aged between 21 and 25 who need to be housed, and the council is expected to overspend its budget for care leaver accommodation for 2024/25 by £800,000.
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Madeleine Sarley Pontin, deputy cabinet member for education, said after the purchase was approved at a cabinet member on Tuesday morning (October 1): "Within children and young people's services, we're really pleased to see more accommodation being provided and whilst it's not in the borough, [it's] very close to the borough and very close to the communities and many of our children and young people." She went on to say because the project includes two-bedroom properties, some care leavers who are siblings have the option to live together while young care leavers who have their own children will also be offered accommodation there too.
Newham has the highest number of households in temporary accommodation in the country, with more than 6,000 families in homes that are not intended to be permanent. More than 3,000 of these families are staying in nightly-booked properties like bed and breakfasts or hotels, which the council says is the most expensive and insecure form of accommodation.
Cllr Zulfiqar Ali, cabinet lead for finance and resources, said: "The acquisition will also no doubt reduce the financial burden of the council because the nightly accommodation which we're currently paying is such a significant issue for us financially this year and the coming year." The council is expected to lease the properties to a third party, and care leavers will pay a one-bedroom local housing allowance rate, while families coming from temporary accommodation will pay below market rent.
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