Spending on temporary accommodation for homeless families in Croydon is the highest it has been in 10 years.

Croydon council spent nearly £40 million on temporary accommodation for homeless families last year – six times what it spent a decade ago.

At £38.8 million in 2018/19, the amount spent on housing homeless people in Croydon is the highest it has been since comparable records began in 2008/09.

A third of this, £13.4 million, was spent on bed and breakfast accommodation, down from £18.6 million in 2017/18.

Temporary accommodation provided by Croydon Council could be in the borough or further afield depending on availability.

In June 2019, figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government showed that 2,039 families in the borough were living in temporary accommodation.

Most of the cost is reimbursed by the government, but Croydon Council still spent £2.9 million more than it had coming in on B&B accommodation, and £1.9 million extra on other temporary accommodation.

A council spokesman said: “All councils have a duty to place homeless households in temporary accommodation, and this demand is growing in Croydon mainly because of private landlords evicting their tenants.

At the same time we are also face spiralling costs, which was compounded by the Government’s four-year freeze of the Local Housing Allowance.

“We are doing a lot to boost local supply through council-owned house builder Brick By Brick and buying hundreds of properties via Croydon Affordable Homes aimed at getting people out of temporary accommodation and into a place of their own.”

Currently in Croydon there are nearly 5,000 households waiting for social housing.

And the council website states that even those with the greatest need are likely to face a lengthy wait.