London councils have splashed out over £140 million snapping up more than 850 homes outside the capital since 2017, a Guardian analysis reveals, shifting homeless families and individuals far from the city’s borders.
From Harlow to Coventry, these properties—bought either directly or through council-owned companies—are serving as both temporary stopgaps and permanent rentals, sparking a fierce debate about the human cost of this exodus.
Waltham Forest and Bromley, via ventures with Mears Group, have shelled out nearly £80 million for over 500 homes in spots like Harlow, Thurrock, and Maidstone since 2017, rehoming people to meet homelessness duties.
Brent’s forked over £18 million for 75 properties in Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead, and Slough, while Barnet’s £10 million nabbed nearly 70 in Peterborough and Luton.
Enfield’s Housing Gateway dropped £13 million in 2018 on Greenway House in Harlow—83 flats now housing the displaced.
Redbridge, spending £10 million on 55 homes since 2020, has stretched as far as Leicester and Coventry.
“On top of the trauma of becoming homeless, families’ lives are being thrown into further turmoil by being moved miles away from their communities, often overnight,” says Polly Neate, Shelter’s chief executive, painting a grim picture of the fallout.
Harlow’s the top pick, with 164 properties snapped up, but Basildon’s 84 homes sit in a council where leader Gavin Callaghan’s previously grumbled they’re forced to ship locals north because London’s hogging the stock—nearly 700 households there are already in emergency digs.
The trend’s spreading too—last year saw buys in the Midlands, and Enfield’s eyeing 28 homes near Liverpool for 2025.
Labour MP Florence Eshalomi, chair of the housing committee, isn’t holding back: “Out-of-area placements force some of our most vulnerable families away from desperately needed support and devastate the life chances of children, who end up travelling for hours simply to go to school. This is the result of the toxic mix of the housing crisis and the stretching of local council finances to breaking point.”
Naushabah Khan, Labour MP for Gillingham and Rainham, piles on: “The negative impact of out-of-borough placements is the scarring legacy of a deeply damaged housing market that was neglected under 14 years of a Conservative government. As local councils struggle with an ongoing housing crisis, this last-resort practice has become the norm.”
Government stats back the uproar—out-of-borough temporary placements spiked 39% in the last year, hitting a record high.
Neate’s got a fix: “Councils are meant to accommodate families who become homeless in their own area, but a dire shortage of social homes, extortionate private rents, and record homelessness is making this increasingly difficult. Instead of sinking money into temporary solutions, we need to see social homes built in areas where they are most needed.”
Councils are pushing back. Waltham Forest insists its company’s loans keep costs off their books, aiming for quality long-term homes.
Bromley blames low outer-London funding, forcing them beyond pricey local turf.
Barnet claims no out-of-borough buys since 2020, sticking close to home.
Redbridge sees its 55 homes as a stepping stone to settled tenancies, and Brent, with most buys in London, is building to tackle its 34,000-strong waiting list—no out-of-town grabs since 2021.