Households in Lewisham temporary accommodation fell from 2,547 to 2,168 in a year, with 3,257 children. A new homelessness strategy goes to Cabinet on 4 November.
The number of Lewisham households living in temporary accommodation fell by 379 in a year, the council says.
There were 2,168 households in temporary accommodation in August 2026, down from 2,547 in August 2025. That is a fall of about 15%. The number of children fell from 3,738 to 3,257.
The figures are in a report to Mayor and Cabinet, which meets on Wednesday 4 November. Cabinet is asked to adopt a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for 2026 to 2031.
Still far above England
Despite the fall, the numbers remain high. The report says one in every 54 Lewisham households was living in temporary accommodation in the third quarter of 2025. That was slightly below the London average but more than three times the rate for England.
The report gives other measures that have improved:
- Prevention: the share of cases where the council stopped someone becoming homeless rose from 48% in August 2025 to 57% so far in 2026/27
- Relief: the share of cases where homeless households were helped into a home rose from 38% to 43%
- Rough sleeping: 71 people were seen sleeping rough in Lewisham from April to June 2026, down from 88 in the previous three months. Across the whole of 2025/26, 345 people were seen
- B&Bs: the council says it has kept to its legal duty not to house families with children in bed and breakfast for more than six weeks
What drives it
The council’s review of homelessness in the borough found:
- 1,605 Lewisham households were subject to the benefit cap in February 2025
- the number of homes advertised to rent in Lewisham fell by about 22% between 2018 and 2024
- there are an estimated 2,908 short-term lets in the borough, mostly in the north and particularly in Deptford
- the share of social homes let to homeless households doubled, from about 20% in 2022/23 to about 40% in 2024/25
- Black households made up 46.4% of the households the council owed a prevention or relief duty in the first quarter of 2026. Black residents were 26% of Lewisham’s population at the 2021 Census
What residents told the council
The council consulted on a draft from 18 August to 23 September. It says 96.78% of respondents supported the approach.
Earlier engagement with people who had used the service raised these concerns:
- long waits for a first homelessness assessment, which meant chances to prevent homelessness were missed
- not enough information during the process to make decisions
- the length of time families spend in temporary accommodation waiting for social housing, especially larger homes
- limited space and storage, and some disrepair
- support dropping away after a move into settled accommodation
Some people also questioned whether the council gets value for money from private landlords, and asked why empty homes and empty commercial buildings could not be brought into use.
The five priorities
The strategy is built around five aims:
- Tackle rough sleeping and prevent homelessness
- Raise standards and enforcement in private renting
- Improve the quality of temporary accommodation
- Increase the supply of long-term homes
- Work with partners to help residents live independent, healthy lives
The report says the strategy delivers several of the new administration’s manifesto promises. One is a Charter of Rights for temporary accommodation, guaranteeing “the Five Basics”: kitchen access, laundry, Wi-Fi, storage, and clear information on housing options and how long people can expect to wait to move on. Another is a Rogue Landlord Taskforce to enforce the Renters’ Rights Act.
The report says the action plan will be delivered within existing budgets.
What it means for you
- If you are worried about losing your home, contact the council early. The strategy’s focus is prevention, and the report shows more than half of cases are now prevented. Lewisham’s housing support pages explain how to get help.
- If you are in temporary accommodation, the promised Charter of Rights sets out what you should be able to expect. The report does not give a date for it.
- If you see someone sleeping rough, you can report it to StreetLink, which passes details to the local outreach team.
Mayor and Cabinet meets at 6pm on 4 November in the Civic Suite at Lewisham Town Hall. The agenda and papers are online.
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