Councils across England paid private landlords at least £1.25bn last year for temporary accommodation, including hostels and bed and breakfasts, as rising numbers of people faced homelessness.
Including council-owned properties, total spend on temporary accommodation – which is often cramped or sub-standard – reached almost £1.6bn.
MPs and housing groups said the bill for short-term accommodation, revealed on Thursday by the government’s ‘levelling up’ department, showed a broken system.
