Haringey Ends Hotel Housing for Homeless Families 2026

Key points

• Haringey Council has reached a major milestone by ending the use of hotels as temporary accommodation for homeless families.
• Around 75 families have been moved out of hotels and into self‑contained housing since October 2025.
• Councillor Sarah Williams, Haringey’s deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and planning, said hotels are not suitable environments for children to grow up in.
• The shift forms part of a wider plan to reduce reliance on emergency placements and to increase the supply of affordable, family‑sized housing.
• The council acknowledges that demand for homelessness services is still rising and that the shortage of affordable homes remains a key constraint.
• Past controversies over long‑stay hotel placements, including cases criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, had previously highlighted the unsuitability of such accommodation for families.

(North London News) February 26, 2026 – Haringey Council

Haringey Council says it has achieved a major milestone in its efforts to tackle homelessness, confirming that no homeless families in the borough are now being housed in hotels as temporary accommodation. The authority announced the change on Wednesday, describing it as the result of a year‑long, intensive programme to move families into self‑contained housing and to reduce dependence on commercial hotels.

Around 75 families have been transferred from hotel rooms into more stable, independent housing since October 2025, according to the council’s latest update, marking what officials say is a significant step away from the “last resort” use of hotels that has characterised the borough’s response to rising homelessness in recent years. The move comes after repeated criticism from watchdogs and campaigners who argued that protracted stays in hotels were damaging for children’s health, education and sense of stability.

Why has Haringey ended hotel use for families?

As reported by the official Haringey Council bulletin, Councillor Sarah Williams, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and planning, said: “We know that hotels are not places where children can thrive. Rooms are often cramped, kitchen facilities may be shared with strangers, and families can lack the space, stability and quiet children need to learn, rest, and grow.”​

In a statement issued to mark the milestone, Williams added that the council is committed to ending hotel use for families “as part of our work to tackle homelessness” and to prevent children from growing up in conditions that undermine their health and future opportunities. She stressed that the change is not just symbolic but forms part of a concrete strategy to strengthen alternative housing options and reduce the need for emergency placements.

Earlier reporting by Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter for the Haringey Community Press, had outlined how the number of homeless families placed in emergency hotel accommodation in Haringey rose from zero to 104 in just 18 months, prompting the council to adopt a formal “elimination plan” for B&Bs and hotels. That plan focused on early intervention, expanding the use of one‑bedroom council properties, and exploring vacant or council‑owned buildings for temporary housing, all aimed at reducing dependence on private‑sector hotels.

How were the 75 families re‑housed?

As detailed in Haringey Council’s February 2026 announcement, the 75 families who have been moved out of hotels since October 2025 have been placed into self‑contained housing, which typically offers dedicated kitchens, bathrooms and private living space. The authority did not disclose the exact mix of tenures (council, housing association or private rented), but councillors have previously indicated that the borough is using a combination of council stock, new builds, and partnerships with registered providers to expand the temporary‑housing pool.

In a separate council briefing last year, Williams noted that the borough had approved more than 200 new council homes as part of a broader strategy to ease the housing crisis and reduce pressure on emergency accommodation. That expansion was framed as central to the goal of ending hotel use for families, since the council has often cited a “chronic shortage of family‑sized properties” when explaining why it turned to hotels in the first place.

The Evening Standard earlier reported that Haringey received around 4,400 homelessness applications in a single year, one of the highest figures in London, underscoring the scale of demand facing the council. Against that backdrop, the transfer of 75 families into self‑contained units represents a concrete, if incremental, shift away from the most unstable forms of temporary housing.

What were the problems with hotel placements?

Reports by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and national media have repeatedly highlighted the risks of keeping families in hotels for extended periods. In one high‑profile case, an investigation found that a family, referred to as “Miss B,” was placed in what the ombudsman described as “unsuitable” hotel accommodation for several months, with the council applying the wrong test when first refusing to provide emergency housing.

In his report, the ombudsman criticised Haringey for failing to take adequate steps to mitigate the impact of hotel living on the woman and her child, noting that such conditions were “particularly detrimental to the health and development of children” and were “not suitable for families to occupy,” except as a last resort and for no more than six weeks. In response, Williams acknowledged that mistakes had been made and said the council had apologised to the family and agreed to pay compensation.

Separate reporting by the Evening Standard and the BBC has described how some Haringey families placed in hotels were moved far from their children’s schools, with one family in a Travelodge in Enfield struggling with long journeys that disrupted schooling and wellbeing. That reporting helped crystallise public and political pressure on the council to scale back hotel use and to seek more stable, local alternatives.

Has Haringey always avoided hotel use for families?

Historically, Haringey did not use hotels to house local homeless families for over a decade, according to a 2023 report by the Haringey Community Press. However, from mid‑2022 onwards, the number of local families in commercial hotels rose sharply, from zero to 104 within 18 months, prompting the council to submit a formal “elimination plan” under central‑government pressure.

Denise Gandy, then the council’s assistant director of housing demand, told a housing development and planning scrutiny panel in 2023 that boroughs with more than six families in B&Bs are required to show how they intend to reduce those numbers, or risk losing government funding earmarked for homelessness prevention. She explained that while funding was secure for the current year and the next, continued reliance on hotels beyond that point could affect the council’s ability to access support.​

Even then, council officers and politicians emphasised that the motivation was not only financial but also moral: they argued that B&Bs and hotels were intrinsically unsuitable environments for families, especially for children’s education and mental health. That view helped shape the strategy that has now culminated in the announced end of hotel placements for families.

What does this mean for homelessness in Haringey now?

Despite the milestone, council officials are careful to stress that the underlying pressures remain strong. In her latest statement, Williams said the council continues to recognise that more work is needed, as demand for homelessness services grows and the shortage of affordable housing limits the range of temporary‑accommodation options.

As reported by Haringey Council in a February 2026 bulletin, the authority is planning further investment in housing, parks and libraries as part of a wider “residents’ charter” aimed at improving quality of life and addressing the root causes of homelessness. At the same time, national data cited by specialist outlets such as Inside Housing show that many families across England remain trapped in temporary accommodation for years, highlighting the scale of the challenge beyond any single borough.

City‑wide reporting by the BBC and other outlets has also underlined how some London families have been moved between multiple hotels in a short period, describing temporary accommodation as “chaotic” and “disorientating.” Against that backdrop, Haringey’s claim that it has ended hotel use for families will be scrutinised by housing charities and scrutiny panels to see whether the borough can sustain this record and avoid reverting to hotels in future spikes of demand.

What are housing groups and residents saying?

So far, the official reaction has been framed around cautious optimism. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Williams wrote that the end of hotel use for families represented “a major milestone” and “a huge achievement,” saying it would help restore stability and “a sense of home” for children and parents alike.

However, housing‑charity networks and local campaigners have historically called for deeper structural change, arguing that ending hotel placements is only one part of a wider fix. In earlier coverage, the Haringey Community Press and national outlets noted that grassroots organisations have urged the council to target vacant properties, expand social‑rent stock, and strengthen prevention work so that families never reach the point of needing emergency accommodation in the first place.

Residents interviewed in past reports have also spoken of the emotional toll of moving repeatedly between hotels, with some describing stigma, isolation and difficulty maintaining routines for children. Those testimonies suggest that while stopping hotel use for families is a notable policy shift, the lived experience of homelessness will not be fully resolved without a parallel increase in genuinely affordable, permanent housing.

What comes next for Haringey’s housing strategy?

Going forward, Haringey Council has signalled that it will continue to push for “better, fairer housing solutions” and to expand the range of options available to families, according to Williams’s most recent public remarks. As part of that, the authority is expected to focus on building more council homes, refurbishing existing stock and using available sites more efficiently, building on the more than 200 new council homes already approved in recent years.

At the same time, the council has acknowledged that central‑government housing policy and the wider London market will continue to shape its capacity to keep families out of hotels. Housing experts quoted in other outlets have warned that unless national policy increases the supply of social and affordable homes, local councils will remain vulnerable to future spikes in homelessness and may again be forced to rely on temporary, often unsuitable, accommodation.

For now, Haringey’s announcement that homeless families are no longer being placed in hotels stands as a clear marker of change. Whether it becomes a durable turning point in the borough’s approach to homelessness will depend on how consistently the council can deliver more stable housing and hold that line even as economic and political pressures evolve.