A council is calling on private landlords to help reduce the numbers of people in temporary accommodation.

Gravesham council is urging landlords to work with them to cut the the amount of time families are staying in unsuitable temporary accommodation and ease the financial crisis.

The creation of GBC Lettings promises to see the council work with landlords to ensure rent is paid on time and tenants are found quickly, as well as to help turn around the property ready for the next occupants.

Launching the agency, Cllr Jenny Wallace, Gravesham council’s cabinet member for housing services, said: “Temporary accommodation should be just that, a few brief nights’ stay in an emergency before moving on to something more permanent.

“But demand for social housing has soared in recent months as families struggle to make ends meet and has resulted in too many households spending too long in this sort of property.

“And it is expensive. We are looking at a bill of over £1 million for temporary accommodation in the current financial year, against a budget originally set for less than half of that. It’s an unsustainable position and one we are having to be innovative and creative at tackling.”

High interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis are key factors leading to record numbers of families and individuals approaching the council for support, leaving it with more than 200 households in expensive temporary accommodation.

GBC Lettings is looking to sign up private sector landlords who will take households directly from temporary accommodation.

In return, the council is offering a fully managed service including a guaranteed tenant within two weeks of a property being ready to let and a minimum of four visits a year from council officers to check on properties.

Cllr Wallace added: “Essentially, we are looking to make it as easy and straightforward as possible for landlords to provide a more permanent home for some of the families we are currently supporting in temporary accommodation.

“As a social landlord, we already have 5,700 social housing properties that we manage and maintain on a daily basis. We are offering to bring that expertise to support our landlords, while guaranteeing them rental income.

“I hope many of our borough’s private landlords see the benefits of working with us for themselves, but most importantly for the well-being of so many local families in need of support.”

This is just one of the ways the council has been trying to aid the homeless crisis.

In August a deal a partnership was formed between Gravesham council and housebuilders The Hill Group to speed up the construction of new homes for those most in need of housing to accelerate the supply of new affordable homes to those who most needed them.

While at the start of the Covid pandemic, the council assisted those sleeping rough to secure emergency shelter at short notice as part of the government's "Everyone In" scheme.

Landlords can register their interest in working with GBC Lettings by clicking on this link.

Earlier this month Kent Online reported on the county’s housing crisis where the bill for temporary accommodation in the county has doubled in five years which has left families living for too long in homes blighted by drug-using neighbours, rats and damp.