The number of homeless approaches made to Maidstone Borough Council by people seeking a roof over their head has increased dramatically in recent years.

But affordability for those on benefits and the placement here of families from other boroughs means some do miss out, as Rhys Griffiths reports.

Pressure on housing across the borough is increasing as the number of homeless people approaching the council for help continues to soar.

Demand for both temporary accommodation and permanent homes in Maidstone and surrounding areas is growing, with the number of applicants seeking assistance climbing dramatically from 654 in 2017/18 to 1,327 in 2019/20.

The stock of affordable housing in the borough - which is heavily reliant on new-build properties - is unable to keep pace with the demand for homes, which means Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is often forced to resettle families outside the area to towns where housing is cheaper.

In turn councils with expensive housing markets, such as London boroughs, are increasingly moving households outwards into Kent, something the local authorities here in the county have no power to prevent.

John Littlemore, head of housing and community services at MBC, told us there is no one single factor behind the steep rise in homeless approaches, but the biggest issue is affordability of property in the local housing market.

“The amount of affordable housing that’s built every year just cannot keep pace with demand,” he said.

“That has been the case since the 1980s since local authorities were stopped from building new properties.

“The level at which somebody can get housing benefit is quite significantly below what the market rents are. So there are an increasing number of people who are disenfranchised from the housing market, so their only option is to turn to the affordable housing market through their local authority for assistance.”

A report to the council’s communities, housing and environment committee earlier this month told members the authority is in competition for scarce housing resources with councils which have “far more generous budgets and funding streams than MBC”.

Although MBC could not provide complete data relating to placement of households into the borough, it is known that the London Borough of Bromley is currently placing anywhere up to 200 households in the area.

Mr Littlemore recognised that the movement of families from London is a source of frustration for local people waiting for accommodation, but he pointed out that there is no means by which the council can prevent these placements.

“Most local authorities will try to house people in their own geographical area, and we are required to do so,” he said.

“However where that is not always possible you start looking at the best possible solutions, and places like Medway that have cheaper housing are particularly affected not just by London authorities but other areas in Kent placing into their area because there is cheaper housing to be had.

“There is a misconception that somehow the host authority that ends up with people placed into it has some sort of veto, and there isn’t one.

“There isn’t anything that we can do to prevent that happening, and what we have found in the last 18 months is that a number of private organisations have set themselves up to go out and find these properties and acquire them on behalf of local authorities, so it has become quite a lucrative business.”

"Some of those conversions were not done to the quality that we would have wanted to have seen...”

“It’s a worry that some people seem to think we have some way of preventing it from happening, because we don’t.”

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of office-to-residential conversions taking place in the area under permitted development rules, which greatly reduces the influence of planning officials in the process.

These converted buildings are then offered direct to other boroughs, such as those in London, as a solution for rehousing people from their areas.

Mr Littlemore said: “The local authority’s ability to have an intervention in those was minimised and what was happening was that some of those conversions were not done to the quality that we would have wanted to have seen.”

The number of people on the housing register in Maidstone is growing too, with 949 people registered today, up from 618 in 2017/18.

"If that tap is turned off it has a significant impact...”

Average wait times vary depending on what type of property a person or family requires, with those seeking a two-bedroom home waiting on average 10 months, while those wanting a three-bedroom family home wait on average two years.

In an effort to address issues of housing stock, the council has decided to launch its own housing development programme, with the policy and resources committee agreeing to fund up to 200 homes to be delivered at social rent levels.

Despite objections from some communities to further development, Mr Littlemore insists greater housebuilding is the only way to guarantee affordable housing for future generations.

“A third of all homes that go to people on the housing register, people with a connection to Maidstone, come through that route, so if that tap is turned off it has a significant impact,” he added.

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