New plan to tackle homelessness

Councillors have agreed a five-year plan to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in Swale.

In March 2026 there were 322 households in temporary accommodation in Swale, including 385 children, and the council were spending £2.04 million on temporary housing.

Three quarters of homeless cases were triggered by three issues:

• private tenancies ending (28%) - landlords exiting the market or increasing rents beyond local affordability
• relationship breakdown (27%) – overcrowding, financial stress or relationship breakdown leading family and friends to ask people to leave
• domestic abuse (20%) – people fleeing unsafe homes, creating an immediate need for secure refuge.

To tackle this, the council has agreed a new homelessness and rough sleeping strategy.

This focuses on stepping in early to prevent people from losing their homes, rather than reacting once a family is already in crisis.

The strategy also identifies how the council will work to improve access to affordable homes and improve the quality of emergency housing.

The council will work closely with private landlords to secure affordable renting options, prevent sudden evictions and mediate disputes.

By taking a more targeted approach, council officers will be able to provide more stability for local families and reduce the pressure on the council’s budget from increased demand for homelessness support.

The new strategy will focus on four priorities:

• Early intervention – dedicated teams will provide upfront advice and support to try to resolve housing issues before people face eviction. The council will also work closely with hospitals to make sure no-one is discharged onto the streets, or into unsuitable accommodation
• Good quality, affordable temporary accommodation – the council will focus on keeping stays in short term accommodation as brief as possible, and make sure conditions meet good standards. The council has bought 55 properties in the borough for temporary accommodation, which prevents relying on expensive, nightly-paid housing
• Access to appropriate accommodation – the council will actively work with private landlords to secure affordable rental options and tackle discrimination against residents receiving benefits. Alongside this, the council is building 51 of its own new social homes at Cockleshell Walk to increase the local housing supply
• Working to end rough sleeping – a newly secured £257,724 grant from the Government will immediately fund flexible winter accommodation and expert street outreach workers. Rather than offering basic overnight shelters, the council will fund dedicated caseworkers to help individuals overcome complex health or addiction challenges, supporting them to stay off the streets permanently.

Cllr Hanah Perkin, chair of the housing, health and communities committee at the council, said:

"In April 2024 we declared an affordable housing emergency. Rising living costs and high rents are pushing more people into homelessness.

"At the end of the last financial year, we had 2,069 households waiting for just 382 available social lets. Local people face a severe supply bottleneck - especially single people who make up 55% of our cases. This places immense pressure on our emergency housing, where we were supporting 385 children up to March this year.

"To help manage the costs we have invested in 55 local properties, which has saved us £257,000 a year on private rentals. We’re also building 51 new affordable homes for local people on the housing register.

“This new strategy helps us move us away from short-term fixes by investing in intensive year-round supported housing to break the cycle of homelessness completely."

The new strategy was approved by the council’s housing, health and communities committee on Thursday 1 October 2026.

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