Improving temporary accommodation? Start with fixing the five basics

Imagine trying to live your life without any single one. They’re not luxuries. They’re fundamentals of everyday life, simple human needs. Basics. Without them, it’s almost impossible for families in temporary accommodation to move on in their lives, and there can be serious health implications.

Time and again we hear of children becoming ill because of the quality of food when their parents have no kitchen. Or not being allowed to play outside, because their parents are worried about their clothes getting dirty when they don’t have a washing machine and it is too expensive to do laundry regularly.

“This campaign is not about scapegoating, or adding impossible demands to overstretched budgets. Rather, it’s a call for dialogue”

I’ve heard about a mum travelling an hour each way just to find Wi-Fi so her child could do homework. Some families live without furniture, because they were forced to throw theirs away when they moved, but then moved into unfurnished accommodation at short notice. Others are paying hundreds a month in storage costs.

Changing this situation can feel impossible. Collectively, London councils are spending £90m a month on temporary accommodation. Officers and councillors are working tirelessly, under extreme constraints.

So this campaign is not about scapegoating, or adding impossible demands to overstretched budgets. Rather, it’s a call for dialogue, for decision-makers to meet us, our partners, people living in temporary accommodation – and to all work together for practical, affordable solutions that will make a real impact.

Above all, it’s about changing what we deem acceptable. As a society, we rightly believe it’s unacceptable for a child to sleep on the streets. Even under intense financial pressure, councils will move heaven and earth to prevent this. The same should be true of the five basics.

We should view it as unacceptable for children in temporary accommodation to rely on Pot Noodle for their nutrition because there’s no kitchen and no money for a meal out, or for the most vulnerable families to be paying extortionate amounts just to keep their belongings safe.

Some councils are taking action to improve conditions. Greenwich now provides free SIM cards to all temporary accommodation residents through a partnership with the Good Things Foundation digital inclusion charity.

Since the campaign began, we’ve had a really positive reaction, with a lot of cabinet members telling us they’re already looking into ways to improve the basics. We want these and other efforts to spread and to raise the bar across London, to redefine what we consider acceptable.

Of course, it’s not up to local authorities to do everything. The government must lead on tackling the root causes of the housing crisis, including by investing in the social housing we so urgently need.

“The Better TA alliance – an informal collection of grassroots organisations, frontline workers and residents with lived experience – is bringing people together to raise a louder, coordinated voice”

The private sector, too, must be challenged on the cost and quality of accommodation provided to families in need. We hope that by committing to the five basics, councils will be able to do this more effectively and get better value for money.

The Better TA alliance – an informal collection of grassroots organisations, frontline workers and residents with lived experience – is bringing people together to raise a louder, coordinated voice. We’re building new partnerships already, working with councils to find solutions that improve lives and drive standards up.

We want every person in temporary accommodation to have access to the five basics. And we want to work together – with councils, with communities and with anyone willing to join – to make that happen. If that’s you, we want you to join our growing movement.

Now is the time to raise our collective voice and fix the five basics.

Albinia Stanley, strategy lead, Fix the Five Basics campaign, Better TA Alliance