A council leader has accused two London boroughs of housing their homeless people in the town.

He says it is causing “unacceptable” pressures on the Kent borough’s temporary housing and asked them to stop.

Gravesham council has more than 200 households in temporary accommodation (TA), 48 of which are housed out of the area, and is expected to spend £2.7 million on it for the year 2023/24.

The local authority says this is because high-interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have led to record numbers of individuals approaching it for support. And as it only has a finite number of council-owned homes, it has to look elsewhere.

In a report discussed by cabinet members earlier this month, officers said difficulties in accessing private homes are being “exasperated” by other authorities procuring accommodation where it is more affordable compared to their area.

The leader of the council, Cllr John Burden, has written to his London Borough of Bromley counterpart, Cllr Colin Smith, and the mayor of Lewisham Council, Cllr Damien Egan, asking them to stop housing their homeless in Gravesham.

In letters dated last Wednesday (November 15), the Labour councillor said: “As a council leader, you will be all too familiar with the challenges we face in helping those most vulnerable within our communities, in particular those that are threatened with homelessness or those that are actually homeless, often through no fault of their own.

“In managing homelessness, every authority faces the same challenge - finding suitable accommodation...”

“As you will no doubt be equally aware, in managing homelessness, every authority faces the same challenge - finding and funding suitable accommodation both for temporary and permanent use.”

Addressing the mayor of Lewisham directly, Cllr Burden said he had been told “anecdotally” that the London council had been providing landlords with “large incentives to secure private rentals”.

He branded the practice “unacceptable” and asked if it is taking place it is stopped immediately.

Despite this, a Lewisham Council spokesperson confirmed no families have been moved into private rented sector accommodation in Gravesham.

They added: “With 2,700 Lewisham families living in TA and a severe shortage of social housing, supporting homeless families into private rented accommodation is an important part of our work to tackle homelessness in the borough.

“Our focus is always on securing properties in or close to the borough, but given the shrinking supply of private rented properties in London, we do have to look at sourcing private rented accommodation outside of London.

“This is not an approach we would want to take, but it reflects the reality of the current housing crisis.

“Ultimately, the current housing crisis cannot be solved without action at a national level and we would welcome the opportunity to work with councils like Gravesham to highlight these issues to the government, as we have done repeatedly over recent years.”

Research has shown that across Greater London the number of homes in the privately rented sector is shrinking, with the amount of listings of rental properties advertised on Rightmove down 45% since 2017.

Although Lewisham Council has not yet housed people in the borough, Cllr Burden claims Bromley council has and the housing service has received 14 out-of-area placement notifications since April 2022.

In a letter to Cllr Smith, he said this “far exceeds the numbers seen by any other local authority during that same period” but is only part of the picture as he is unaware of the number of homes sourced in the private sector.

Cllr Burden added: “Consequently, placing people within each other’s borough should only be used as a last resort as ultimately it will affect what is available to the local authority in which the accommodation is located.

“I now find myself in the unenviable position of placing at least 14 Gravesham households during this financial year outside of the borough that they are proud to call home as a result of additional pressure being placed on our local housing market by households being placed from your area.

“I understand that as a London borough the pressures, purely through demand and cost of accommodation may seem greater than we experience in Gravesham, but in my view that should not mean that Gravesham council and our community are disadvantaged as a result, and such challenges are all relative.

“My view, based on current data is that the actions of your council are creating more challenges to the housing team and putting Gravesham and its residents at a disadvantage, and this is unacceptable.”

In the letter, also sent to the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Cllr Burden requested that the council stop placing families in the borough.

Cllr Smith told KentOnline: “While I cannot immediately acknowledge receipt of Cllr Burden’s letter, Bromley’s position is, along with I believe just about every other London borough, extremely simple.

“While we would far rather not place anybody out of borough, distant from vital care support networks and their children’s schools, we have a statutory duty to assist the homeless and always attempt to do so as close to home as possible.

“This is putting Gravesham and its residents at a disadvantage, and this is unacceptable...”

“Unfortunately, when there is quite literally nothing available left locally, we then have to look elsewhere.

“I only wish that things were different myself, but we are where we are.

“If colleagues in Gravesham have concerns over the process being followed to do so, I would actively encourage their officers to engage directly with Bromley’s head of housing to discuss their worries directly.

“I would be the very first to agree that correct procedure needs to be followed to the letter at every turn as both authorities coordinate these increasingly widespread difficult transitions.”

Placing homeless people in other boroughs or areas is not a unique practice but is often one taken as a last resort.

Read more: Your questions on temporary accommodation are answered.

For example, Newham council is set to place around 80 homeless households in Anchorage House, Chatham.

This is due to an “increasing shortage of suitable homes” in the London borough.