Industry supplier Inventory Base claims there’s an urgent need for greater enforcement of standards for rental temporary accommodation. 

It estimates that over 80,500 families with children are currently living in temporary accommodation across the UK. While technically covered by legal standards, the supplier claims this temporary housing is not held to the same safety and suitability benchmarks as other rental sectors and “the consequences have been devastating.”

It says between 2019 and 2024, some 74 children died while in temporary accommodation with their environment recorded as a contributing factor. It claims 78.4% were under the age of one and 21.6% were under 18.

The law requires temporary accommodation to be ‘suitable’ under Section 206 of the Housing Act 1996; addressing factors like location, health impact, and overcrowding.

Families with children or pregnant women should not be housed in B&Bs for more than six weeks if “alternatives exist” but Inventory Base claims this is “a loophole … too often exploited.”

Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Inventory Base, explains: “Many families remain in overcrowded or unsafe temporary accommodation due to housing shortages, and some councils simply don’t have the boots on the ground to inspect properties. 

“It is unacceptable that temporary accommodation is less regulated than the social housing programmes families are waiting to access. The result has been nothing short of catastrophic -74 children have died, at least in part due to the poor living standards they were placed into. Temporary accommodation isn’t a safety net, it’s becoming a silent crisis and regulation only protects people if it is enforced.”