Council wants 500 more homes under its control for homeless households

Brighton & Hove City Council^1,2,3,4,5 wants to bring up to 500 more homes under its own control for households it has a duty to house while they are homeless. The Labour-run council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the three-year programme, starting in April 2027, at its meeting on Thursday 12 November.

The plan builds on a change that is already under way. In January, 26% of the temporary accommodation the council used was spot-purchased, the costly nightly-paid places it books from outside providers. By September that was down to 16%, according to the cabinet report. The council says the aim is to bring it closer to zero over the next few years.

Under the new programme, the council would buy up to 100 homes and take up to 400 more on leases of 10 years or longer, with the mix flexing to suit the property market. Leasing needs far less money up front, the report says, and it makes up most of the plan. Cabinet is also asked for £110,000 to prepare a business case for the leasing scheme, which would come back to a later meeting for approval.

Buying carries on in the meantime. The council’s buy-back scheme is expected to bring in 103 homes for temporary accommodation this financial year, and cabinet is asked for an extra £24.324m to keep it going.

The same meeting will be asked to adopt the city’s homelessness and rough sleeping action plans. Its report says more households are now coming to the council before they lose their home: 44.9% sought help at that stage in the first quarter of 2026/27, up from 38.7% in 2025/26.

The catch is scale. In October, 2,358 households were living in temporary accommodation, and the council expects that to reach about 2,440 by 2029/30 even with the programme. It also has limited experience of bulk leasing, and the report warns that if homes come up more slowly than hoped, it may have to rely on the costlier routes for longer.

Landlords can help. A pilot launched in August offers grants of up to £7,500 to bring a privately rented home rated D or below up to EPC C, in return for a three-year lease to the council as temporary accommodation. Councillor Gill Williams, cabinet member for housing, called it “a win-win for our local housing market” at the launch.

Cabinet meets at 10.30am in the Council Chamber at Hove Town Hall.