{"id":392142,"date":"2025-09-02T14:54:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/392142\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T14:54:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:54:14","slug":"are-modular-homes-the-solution-to-londons-temporary-housing-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/392142\/","title":{"rendered":"Are modular homes the solution to London\u2019s temporary housing crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WEST<\/p>\n

London<\/a> is at the centre of the UK\u2019s homelessness<\/a> crisis, with an estimated 183,000 people \u2013 one in every 50 Londoners, including one in 21 children \u2013 living in temporary accommodation.<\/p>\n

Local authorities with an obligation to shelter the 73,000 households who don\u2019t have a stable roof over their heads are collectively spending \u00a3114million a month on hostels, hotels and B&Bs due to a shortage of suitable accommodation.<\/p>\n

To combat this growing problem, City Hall has approved the rollout of modular homes<\/a> \u2013 effectively like flat pack homes that are made in sections in factories then transported to be put together on site \u2013 with the first to be delivered in Havering later this year.<\/p>\n

Developed alongside Wates Residential and Rollalong, the quickly and cheaply built housing units are seen as an \u201cimmediate relief\u201d while officials look for a long-term solution to London\u2019s homelessness problem.<\/p>\n

A prototype will go on tour across the UK after being installed in less than two hours outside City Hall in late August.<\/p>\n

Realistically, each modular home will take 70 days to build and install. They are relocatable, meaning councils<\/a> can, in theory, adapt to their temporary accommodation need as demand fluctuates.<\/p>\n

While there is no immediate information about the cost of building and installing the homes \u2013 Wates were contacted for comment \u2013 Rollalong say that local authorities \u201ccan recoup their investment within three to five years and save up to \u00a363,500 per household per year compared to existing temporary housing\u201d.<\/p>\n

Each property includes a fully fitted kitchen with a dishwasher, washer-dryer and fridge-freezer, and a bathroom with a fully sized bath. The home has a 60-year lifespan, with residents expected to live there for up to six years before the unit is moved to another available site.<\/p>\n

They will likely be used on vacant brownfield land owned by the Greater London Authority until that plot is developed on.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

The prototype will go on tour across the UK later this month<\/p>\n

Approximately 90,000 additional social homes need to be built every year over the next decade in England to address the housing crisis<\/a>. Between 2022 and 2023, just 9,500 were built.<\/p>\n

Research from London Councils showed the capital\u2019s boroughs are currently spending \u00a34million a day on various forms of accommodation.<\/p>\n

Officials say that while the Mayor has already launched programmes to boost affordable housing across London, traditional construction takes time and current housing stock cannot meet this demand.<\/p>\n

Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing, said: \u201cWe all recognise we\u2019ve got a housing crisis in London, and for people who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, they are at the absolute sharpest end of this.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key solutions is building the homes that we need, and in particular, social rented homes. And we also need interim solutions as well, while we build the social rented homes that we desperately need. That\u2019s why solutions like this are so vital.\u201d<\/p>\n

London’s Temporary accomodation crisis<\/p>\n