“These units. They are well designed. They meet space standards. They’re energy efficient. And they’ve got a lifespan of 60 years,” Copley explains. “While they may only be temporary on one particular site, they can be moved around. In another sense, they are permanent, because they are providing a long-term solution, just moving to different sites.”

Some of the families who will eventually move into the Havering scheme have already played a part in shaping it. “Homeless families who live in our hostels were a part of the design process,” says Paul Jones, service director at Rollalong. “They came down to see what their vision looked like in the flesh – they loved a place like this and could absolutely see themselves living there.”

The home

For the next month, Londoners can step inside this two-bedroom modular home and see for themselves what City Hall, Wates Residential and Rollalong believe could be part of the answer to the capital’s homelessness crisis.

Inside, the space feels more like a smart new-build flat than an emergency stopgap. There’s a fully fitted kitchen complete with dishwasher, washer-dryer and fridge-freezer, finished to the same standards as permanent social housing. The ceilings are high, the rooms bright, and the layout makes the most of every inch – a deliberate choice, Jones says, to “make sure all the space is maximised” without compromising on comfort.

A full-sized bath in the family bathroom is another considered detail, reflecting feedback from parents. Bedrooms are generously sized, with room for desks so children can do homework, and built-in storage for the possessions families bring with them. The insulation exceeds building regulations, keeping the interior cool on hot days and warm in winter, while the all-electric heating system can run on renewable energy.

The dining and living space is the first thing you see when you enter the modular home. Credit: City Hall

For visitors, the difference from a hotel room or bedsit is immediate. “People come in and say, ‘It’s a home, isn’t it?’” Jones relates. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah. Of course it is.’”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

The homes on display are designed to offer a dramatic improvement on the hotels and bedsits many families are currently placed in, and Copley has seen first-hand the toll inadequate housing takes.

“So I’ve met with mothers and children who are living in some really, really poor quality accommodation that [are] being supported by the Magpie Project here in Newham,” he says.

“Some of those children are malnourished because there is no kitchen. There are no cooking facilities. Families are having to rely, you know, on takeaways, on pot noodles, on microwave meals, and this kind of home is just worlds away from that really poor quality accommodation.”

The 2030 goal

Sadiq Khan’s homelessness strategy, which includes a pledge to end rough sleeping in London by 2030, focuses heavily on prevention.

But the latest figures suggest the challenge is only growing. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 13,231 people were recorded as sleeping rough in the capital – the highest number on record and a 10% rise on the previous year, when numbers had already jumped by 19%.

Copley acknowledges these modular homes are not a preventative measure, but says they are still essential as an interim solution.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“Long term, we have to be building the high-quality, affordable, particularly social, homes that are needed to address the housing crisis,” Copley says. “But in the meantime, we do need temporary solutions like this.”

Government figures show that England needs 90,000 new social homes every year for the next decade to meet demand; yet in 2022-23, just 9,500 were built.

While the Havering scheme feels like a good starting point, the build promises just 18 homes. The need in the East London borough alone is stark. Between April and June this year, Havering had 1,236 households living in temporary accommodation, 838 of them with children.

Copley says he hopes it will be the start of something bigger. “We would hope that there will be many, many more,” he says.

“We are actively exploring how we can use some of the land that City Hall owns in order to deliver homes on site as well. And if we have any suitable sites, we’re definitely going to explore making sure that we are putting that land in and ensuring that these homes are delivered on the land that we control as well.”

But with 183,000 Londoners living in temporary accommodation, will modular homes really make a measurable dent?

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“I think it has a big part to play,” Copley says. “It’s not the only solution, but frankly, given the scale of the crisis that we’ve got – given that we’ve got one child in every average London classroom now living in temporary accommodation – we have to be exploring every possible solution to this crisis.”

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

It’s helping people with disabilities. 

It’s creating safer living conditions for renters.

It’s getting answers for the most vulnerable.

Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change. 

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

If this article gave you something to think about, help us keep doing this work from £5 a month.