Housing crisis forces families into hotels as Leeds Council spends £600k
A housing crisis has led to families in Leeds being put up in emergency hotel accommodation at a cost of thousands of pounds a night.
Leeds City Council is set to extend its contract with a Holiday Inn where more than 50 rooms are currently being used.
The hotel in Oulton has been used for temporary accommodation since June last year, providing rooms and breakfast for vulnerable people.
A council report said it would continue to be used for another year after the first six-month period cost more than £600,000.
It said: “The council is experiencing consistent growth in total households in temporary accommodation, resulting in significant budget pressures.”
Parts of the hotel were partitioned for homeless use, the report said, and space was provided for laundry and council support services.
It said: “Support has been provided to households at the hotel through different council teams and feedback has been generally very positive.
“The hotel management and their team have also been supportive of households placed and demonstrate proactive partnership working with the council.”
The council was seeing a rise in households in crisis, with around 1.300 given housing support each quarter of the year. Some 522 families were currently living in temporary accommodation.
Fifty-two rooms at the Oulton hotel were currently being used, charged at £65 each per night.
The report said: “The cost of the contract for the first six-month period would total £615,160.”
The contract will be extended with Splendid Hospitality Group, operator of Holiday Inn along with restaurants and care homes.
The report said the deal would cut costs for the council’s Housing Options service by avoiding the need for one-off hotel bookings.
It said: “Where a household’s housing situation meets the legal homelessness tests, the council has a statutory obligation to provide temporary accommodation.
“Leeds Housing Options will commission the Holiday Inn to provide rooms and breakfast for customers over a period 12 months.”
The report said freezes in benefits payments, private sector evictions and rising energy bills were among reasons for an increase in families needing help.
Terms were negotiated with Holiday Inn in December and were considered to be a discount compared to market rates.
The report said: “The service has considered whether the rooms could be reduced but given the current demand and the provision being fully occupied, it is not deemed that reducing rooms is feasible.”