Devon council to buy 15 properties to help homeless local families

North Devon Council is set to buy 15 more homes for temporary accommodation at a cost of £4million.

The council currently has 24 properties for this purpose but with nearly 80 households needing temporary accommodation each night it also has to use bed and breakfast establishments.

Having its own accommodation saves the authority between £6,500 and £10,500 a year per property compared to B&Bs.

Members of the council’s strategy and resources committee recommended to increase the council’s borrowing limit for 2025/26 onwards to £46.5m at their meeting on Monday and add £4m to the capital programme.

READ MORE: Have your say on plans for giant 'super council' to include North Devon and Torridge

North Devon Council is applying to become a social housing provider for the first time in 25 years which means that the new properties can be flipped into social housing in the future should the demand for temporary accommodation drop.

It has spent £3.2m of council coffers on temporary homes over the last seven years and says it will need another 15 properties in the short to medium term.

The council has also taken advantage of two rounds of the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund where it has been able to provide Homes for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees as well as some temporary accommodation for local households.

READ MORE: North Devon's housing market - where are we now?

A report to the committee showed that properties bought by the council in 2018 had increased in value by up to £45,000.

B&Bs are the most expensive type of temporary accommodation at £60-£70 per night on average for a double room making an annual cost of between £22,000 and £26,000 per unit.

The council also has a number of lease arrangements which are slightly cheaper than B&B but still cost up to £14,000 annually each.

READ MORE: Leading the way in temporary housing solutions

Committee members were told that an extra member of staff would be required in the temporary housing team per every 20 additional housing units.

The team currently employs five people to manage properties and supports the welfare of all households.

Councillor Caroline Leaver told the meeting it was ‘a no brainer’ to buy additional homes so the council could provide good quality housing for its residents.

Cllr Malcolm Prowse said they needed to think about a range of accommodation as well as family homes as single bed flats were hard to find anywhere.

He said there were single people whose relationships had broken down and they had no capital and were finding themselves homeless.