Levelling Up Housing: Why the Crisis Is Getting Worse and How Technology Can Help

The numbers are stark. Councils spent £2.84 billion on temporary accommodation (TA) in 2024/25, with net expenditure of £1.43 billion after subsidies and household contributions. In London alone, boroughs were spending almost £5 million a day on temporary accommodation in the same period. 

Meanwhile, the government's ambition to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament is falling well short. Net additional dwellings in England totalled just 208,600 in 2024/25, a 6% decline from the previous year, against an implied annual target of 300,000. 

The gap between supply and demand is widening, and the people caught in the middle are paying the price. 

Behind every statistic is a family. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee concluded in April 2025 that out-of-area placements "have a devastating impact on families, leaving them far from their extended family, friends, and support network, and causing disruption to children's education." 

In London, the situation is particularly acute. Of the 25 councils with the highest rates of households in temporary accommodation, 19 are in the capital. In Newham, 5.8% of households are in temporary accommodation, more than 10 times the national level. As of early 2025, the average length of stay in temporary accommodation was three years and eleven months in London, three times longer than elsewhere in England. 

The financial pressure on local authorities is immense. Councils' net spend on homelessness services has increased by £950 million (125%) in real terms from 2019/20 to 2024/25. The government subsidy towards temporary accommodation costs has been frozen since 2011, even as housing costs have surged. 

The result? Seven London boroughs already require Exceptional Financial Support from the government, the highest rate of any region. The London School of Economics warned in October 2025 that the costs of providing temporary accommodation "now poses a threat to the overall financial stability of some authorities." 

But the financial crisis is only part of the story. The operational challenge is equally severe. Research shows that most local authorities rely on a haphazard mix of phone calls, emails, spreadsheets, property websites and even in-person visits to agents to locate available placements. This fragmented, manual approach is not only inefficient; it is unsustainable when demand is rising and every hour counts. 

Beyond cost and capacity, there is a compliance crisis hiding in plain sight. Ensuring that every property placed with a homeless family meets safety standards (gas certificates, electrical certificates, energy performance ratings) is a legal obligation. But when councils are managing hundreds of placements across dozens of providers using spreadsheets and phone calls, compliance slips. 

The consequences can be devastating for tenants and costly for councils. Non-decent homes currently stand at 22% in the private rented sector and 10% in the social rented sector, figures that reflect years of under-investment and inadequate oversight.

This is where technology can make a transformative difference. Access Adam Housing is a purpose-built platform designed specifically to address the challenges of temporary accommodation and the Private Rented Sector, and it is already helping councils across the UK to work smarter, faster, and more compliantly. 

Unlike traditional housing management systems, which primarily focus on consolidating data and managing ongoing housing needs, Adam Housing is tailored specifically to streamline the processes surrounding temporary accommodations, a crucial distinction when speed and compliance are everything.

1. End-to-End Procurement and Management The platform facilitates the full commissioning process, from provider registration and property listing through to bookings, payments, contract management, compliance, and reporting. Councils get full visibility of the available market in real time, enabling them to source the most appropriate accommodation for each individual or family, fast. 

2. Guaranteed Compliance One of the most powerful features of Adam Housing is its compliance engine. Councils cannot book or use a property until all required compliance certificates are uploaded to the platform. As Danny Hassall, Senior Supply & Acquisitions Officer at Milton Keynes City Council, put it: 

"We can't book a property without having all the compliance certificates. We're running at 99.5% compliance. It's made everything so much easier." 

The platform tracks when certificates are due and sends automatic notifications 28 days and 14 days in advance, so councils can chase providers proactively rather than reactively. 

3. Financial Control and Invoice Accuracy Adam Housing delivers 100% invoice accuracy and the ability to pay providers automatically within the system, driving significant FTE savings and giving finance teams confidence in their spend data. 

4. Rich Reporting and Decision-Making Built-in reporting capabilities give councils the data they need to make informed decisions, identify trends, and demonstrate accountability to elected members and central government. 

5. Works Alongside Existing Systems Crucially, Adam Housing is not a replacement for existing housing management systems. It is designed to work alongside and enhance them. Councils don't need to rip and replace; they can integrate Adam Housing to fill the specific gap around temporary accommodation procurement and management. 

Local authorities using Access Adam Housing can expect tangible benefits within just six months of implementation. The platform reduces bottlenecks in the accommodation process, enabling councils to increase their capacity to take on new clients, a critical advantage when the flow of accommodation is vital for successful homelessness services. 

Milton Keynes City Council's experience is telling. Danny Hassall described the implementation as "straightforward," noting that Access took all existing client bookings with various landlords and providers under various schemes and made everything smooth from day one. 

Since 2015, Access has been supporting local government in solving the growing demands of procuring and managing accommodation to support and relieve homelessness. The platform has been built by staff who truly understand the housing market and the challenges of supplying temporary and private accommodation. 

The government's ambition to tackle deep-rooted regional inequalities through growth, affordable housing, and stronger communities cannot be delivered without giving local authorities the tools they need to manage housing demand effectively. 

Access Adam Housing won't build the 1.5 million homes the country needs. But it can ensure that every home that is available is found faster, managed better, and kept compliant, so that families spend less time in crisis and more time in stability. 

In a system under enormous strain, that matters enormously. 

If your council is still relying on spreadsheets, phone calls, and manual processes to manage temporary accommodation, the question is not whether you can afford to change; it is whether you can afford not to. 

Find out more about Access Adam Housing 

Sources: House of Commons Library, Institute for Government, Local Government Association, London Councils, Parliament UK, GOV.UK, The Access Group