FAQs

Temporary accommodation is the temporary housing provided to some households who have no other accommodation available to them during a statutory homelessness assessment. If the assessment finds that a household is owed housing by law to be secured by the council, they may be accommodated in temporary accommodation until longer term housing is available to them.

Households going through a homelessness assessment who have nowhere else to live; and some households who have had a housing duty awarded after their assessment and have nowhere else to live until longer term housing is available to them.

Under the homelessness law, if a person/couple or family is found to be homeless (not intentionally homeless), is entitled to housing help, has a local connection to Bristol, has a priority need for housing and has no other accommodation available to them, they may require temporary accommodation. Some of the main reasons for people needing temporary accommodation are being told to leave by family members or friends, being evicted by a private landlord, and escaping domestic abuse.

Bristol City Council is pursuing a wide range of longer-term opportunities to reduce the spend of public money on temporary accommodation. We are working with the private rented sector and increasing our work with local Housing Associations. We are also working to improve our options to help prevent the increasing number of households needing temporary accommodation in the first place through early prevention.

The council is pursuing a wide range of new options. However, our pilot last year shows that using council homes as temporary accommodation means that accommodation is better managed, residents are better supported and, and the accommodation is far cheaper than many of the current options available to us.

We understand that this proposal may have an impact on the housing waiting list. However, the acute financial challenge that the council currently faces means we must make difficult decisions to reduce any loss of public money. By using homes we already own, we can reduce spend on expensive temporary accommodation while providing safe homes for those facing a housing emergency. 

There are a number of other important points to bear in mind:

This proposal affects Bristol City Council housing, not the approximately 600 lettings per year provided via HomeChoice Bristol by our partner housing associations.

• The proposal is to use up to 18 homes available per month for temporary accommodation. There will usually be around 40 or more available for those waiting.
• We will also be developing a range of other temporary accommodation options to use. This includes building and acquiring new homes. 
• We are putting a huge focus on homelessness prevention, to reduce the need for temporary accommodation in the first place.
• We are working hard to increase the number of households who can gain affordable privately rented homes, rather than requiring temporary accommodation.