Nowhere to grow
The hidden harm of temporary accommodation on children
20 August 2025
This report explores the severe impact of temporary accommodation (TA) on children’s mental health and development, with a particular focus on London, using Southwark as a case study. With homelessness rising sharply, especially in the capital, children increasingly experience prolonged stays in inadequate, unstable housing. Over 160,000 children in England are currently in TA, with many enduring placements lasting years rather than weeks or months. Southwark, a borough particularly affected, witnessed a 77% increase in children in TA between 2020 and 2024.
Children in TA face significant health, developmental, and psychological harms. Poor housing conditions, overcrowding, frequent moves, and instability undermine their social-emotional functioning and educational outcomes. For example, over half of the children in TA miss school days due to housing instability, while poor conditions such as damp, mould, and overcrowding directly affect their physical and mental health. Worryingly, at least 74 children have died in TA settings in the past year, underscoring the urgency of addressing these issues.
Existing statutory frameworks, including the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, require local authorities to ensure suitable accommodation, yet implementation falls short. Systemic constraints, including severe housing shortages, under-resourcing, and fragmented inter-agency communication, further exacerbate the crisis. Despite legal duties, practical barriers such as delayed suitability reviews and inaccessible judicial processes often leave families trapped in inadequate conditions.
Qualitative interviews with stakeholders, including families and professionals in education, health, and legal sectors, vividly illustrate these systemic failings. Professionals report inadequate inter-agency communication, fragmented services, and a reactive rather than preventative approach to family homelessness. Families frequently experience disempowerment, with parents and children suffering profound psychological strain due to constant uncertainty and substandard living conditions.
Two initial proposals emerged from stakeholder workshops to improve coordination and support: introducing a statutory “duty to communicate” across local authority housing, health, education, and social services; and creating a dedicated local authority “TA family support coordinator” role. Both proposals aim to ensure holistic support for families and improve accountability, though stakeholders emphasised the need for clarity, sufficient resourcing, and phased implementation.
We recommend immediate local actions, alongside broader legislative changes. These include:
- Developing comprehensive inter-agency communication protocols to ensure timely information sharing among housing, education, health, and social services.
- Piloting dedicated “TA family support coordinator” roles within local authorities to provide consistent, holistic support to families.
- Ensuring statutory obligations around suitability assessments and housing placements are rigorously enforced, with clear accountability mechanisms.
- Implementing regular reviews of TA conditions, with mandatory reporting and public accountability to improve standards across local authorities.
- Providing adequate resources and training for frontline housing and social care staff to better recognise and proactively respond to children’s needs.
- Establishing clear, accessible pathways for families to challenge unsuitable accommodation, supported by legal aid and advocacy services.
Addressing these urgent issues holistically is critical to mitigating lasting harms and ensuring that children’s rights and wellbeing are protected effectively.
Image: iStock
