The Housing, Communities and Local Goverment committee and the APPG for households in temporary accommodation have today released separate reports on the ongoing crisis 

A duo of new reports published today from the House of Commons’ housing committee and the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for households in temporary accommodation (TA) have highlighted the extent of the poor conditions affecting thousands of households, resulting in the deaths of 104 children within the space of six years.

In its latest report, the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee has called on the UK government to implement a stronger strategy to reduce the number of homeless families living in TA deemed “unfit for human habitation.” 

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At least 104 children have died with TA as a contributing factor between April 2019 and March 2025

The cross-party group recommended a three-pronged approach after finding that families often lack “proper cooking facilities or sufficient space for children to do homework, learn to walk, or to crawl,” said HCLG chair Florence Eshalomi.

The proposed plan includes strengthening existing protections further, phasing out other types of shared accommodation in addition to B&Bs and establishing long-term plans to improve the supply of suitable TA.

Eshalomi added: “Families can be placed in accommodation in disrepair. Serious hazards, such as damp and mould, are common, as are infestations of rats, mice and other pests.”

Government statistics show a continuous quarterly rise in the number of families in TA, with the latest MHCLG figures reporting 135,000 households, including almost 176,000, children “without a permanent roof over their head.”

Meanwhile, the latest report from the APPG for households in temporary accommodation revealed that at least 104 children have died with TA as a contributing factor to their vulnerability, ill-health or death between April 2019 and March 2025. Of these 104 children, 76 were under the age of 1, with the new data from the National Child Mortality Database including stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

The government has already taken some steps to address the TA crisis in its national plan to end homelessness, including plans to apply Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard to TA. However, Eshalomi warned that these measures will take time to implement and reemphasised the need for urgent action.

HCLG commitee’s three-pronged proposal to tackle poor quality temporary accommodation

1. Strengthen protections against poor conditions

  • Require councils to carry out mandatory inspections to ensure properties meet the needs of all household members, are free from hazards, and are in a decent condition.
  • Ensure Awaab’s Law, which requires social landlords to fix hazards within set timescales, is fully applied to temporary accommodation by the end of 2028/29, including all significant and emergency hazards under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System.
  • Update statutory overcrowding standards to reflect the needs of children and modern living. The report notes that the standards used to assess whether a home is statutorily overcrowded today were originally introduced in 1935 and has remained largely unchanged since.
  • Put interim milestones in place to ensure the sector is on track to fully comply with the new Decent Homes Standard by 2035. 

2. Phase out unsuitable forms of accommodation

  • Phase out the use of other forms of shared accommodation and accommodation that will not be able to comply with the new Decent Homes Standard.
  • The report welcomes the government’s national target to eliminate the use of B&Bs by the end of the parliament but calls on the government to put in place safeguards to ensure councils do not resort to using out-of-area placements or other types of shared accommodation to meet the B&B target.
  • Amend the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 to restrict the placement of families in other types of accommodation with shared facilities to a maximum of six weeks.
  • Once the new Decent Homes Standard is introduced in 2035, amend the order to prevent households being placed in accommodation that cannot fully comply with the standard to a maximum of six weeks.
  • The placing of families, including single women with children, alongside single male adults should be eliminated.

3. Plan for the long-term supply of good-quality temporary accommodation

  • Require local councils, through their homelessness action plans, to forecast future need for temporary accommodation locally and set out a 10-year plan to deliver a sustainable supply of good-quality housing that is decent, safe, and stable.

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