FOI release

Households who are homeless

Case reference FOI2026/01676

Received 23 October 2026

Published 10 November 2026

Request

I am writing to make a freedom of information request relating to accommodation secured for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996. 1. The destination of households who have secured alternative accommodation at the end of the prevention duty. • By “prevention duty”, I am referring to section 195 of the Housing Act 1996, which places a duty on housing authorities to take reasonable steps to help eligible applicants threatened with homelessness within 56 days prevent their homelessness. • By “destination”, I am asking for the name of the local authority area in which the household secured accommodation, and the number of households accommodated in each area. • Please exclude households helped to remain in their existing accommodation. 2. Location of interim accommodation secured for households under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996. • By “interim accommodation”, I am referring to accommodation secured where the authority has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need. • Please provide the number of households accommodated, broken down by the local authority area in which the accommodation was situated. 3. Destination of households who have secured accommodation at the end of the relief duty. • By “relief duty”, I am referring to section 189B of the Housing Act 1996, which requires housing authorities to take reasonable steps to help eligible homeless applicants secure accommodation. • Please provide the number of households who secured accommodation, broken down by destination local authority area. 4. Location of temporary accommodation secured for households who have been owed a main housing duty. • By “main housing duty”, I am referring to section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996, namely the duty to secure accommodation for applicants who are homeless, eligible for assistance, have priority need and are not intentionally homeless. • Please provide the number of households accommodated, broken down by the local authority area in which the accommodation was situated. 5. Destination of households who have accepted accommodation that brought the main housing duty to an end. • Please include both social housing and private rented accommodation. • Please provide the number of households accommodated, broken down by destination local authority area. 6. The number of households accommodated in your local authority area by another local housing authority, as recorded in notifications received under section 208(2) of the Housing Act 1996. • Please provide the name of the placing council and the number of households placed by each council. • Please distinguish between prevention, relief, interim accommodation and main housing duty placements, according to the duty or function recorded in the notification, where held. • As set out in paragraph 17.63 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, the notification requirement applies to all out-of-district placements under Part VII, not only those arranged under interim accommodation duties or the section 193(2) main housing duty. 7. The number of households for whom the council ended a prevention duty, relief duty, interim accommodation duty or main housing duty following refusal of an offer of accommodation outside your local authority area. • Please break these figures down by the duty ended and, where recorded, the destination local authority area of the refused offer. • Separately, please provide the number of applicants found intentionally homeless under section 191 of the Housing Act 1996 where the recorded reason involved refusal of an out-of-area accommodation offer and the consequent loss of accommodation previously occupied. For questions 1–6, I am requesting figures for accommodation actually secured or placements made during each year, rather than unaccepted offers or the number of households in accommodation at year-end. Please count each household once per destination local authority area, per question, per year, where your records allow. If your records instead count placements, including repeat placements of the same household, please provide those figures and make this clear. I recognise that households may appear under more than one question. For all queries above, I would like these numbers broken down by financial year: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26, together with the latest figures held for 2026/27 at the time of receipt of this request. Please state the date covered by the 2026/27 figures. For questions relating to the prevention and relief duties introduced on 3 April 2018, please provide figures from that date onwards. Where equivalent figures for predecessor homelessness prevention activity are held for earlier years, please provide these separately and explain what they cover.

Response

I am writing to make a freedom of information request relating to accommodation secured for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996.


1.         The destination of households who have secured alternative accommodation at the end of the prevention duty.
•           By “prevention duty”, I am referring to section 195 of the Housing Act 1996, which places a duty on housing authorities to take reasonable steps to help eligible applicants threatened with homelessness within 56 days prevent their homelessness.
•           By “destination”, I am asking for the name of the local authority area in which the household secured accommodation, and the number of households accommodated in each area.
•           Please exclude households helped to remain in their existing accommodation.

 

2021/22 -

Row Labels

Count of Prevention accommodation LA

Unknown

9

Maidstone

2

Tonbridge and Malling

1

Tunbridge Wells

53

Wealden

2

Grand Total

67

 

 

 

2022/23 -

Local Authority

Count

Unknown

11

Ashford

1

Birmingham

1

Bromley

1

Canterbury

2

Darlington

3

Liverpool

1

Maidstone

3

Rother

1

Sevenoaks

1

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

82

Waltham Forest

1

Wealden

2

Grand Total

112

2023/24 -

Local Authority

Count

Unknown

12

Ashford

3

Bromley

1

Canterbury

1

Darlington

1

Maidstone

4

Mid Sussex

2

Not applicable

1

Portsmouth

1

Rugby

1

Swale

1

Tonbridge and Malling

1

Trafford

1

Tunbridge Wells

139

Wealden

3

Grand Total

172

2024/25 -

Row Labels

Count of Prevention accommodation LA

Unknown

9

Ashford

3

Canterbury

1

Maidstone

2

Mid Sussex

2

Not applicable

1

Rugby

1

Swale

2

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

125

Wealden

2

Wiltshire

1

Grand Total

151

2025/26 -

Row Labels

Count of Prevention accommodation LA

Ashford

1

Croydon

1

Hastings

2

Maidstone

2

Medway

2

Not applicable

1

Rother

2

Sevenoaks

2

Slough

1

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

126

Wealden

1

West Suffolk

1

Grand Total

144

2026/27 (until 02/11/26) -

Row Labels

Count of Prevention accommodation LA

Unnown

5

Ashford

2

Maidstone

1

Mole Valley

1

Stockton-on-Tees

1

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

70

Wealden

1

Grand Total

83



2.         Location of interim accommodation secured for households under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996.
•           By “interim accommodation”, I am referring to accommodation secured where the authority has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need.
•           Please provide the number of households accommodated, broken down by the local authority area in which the accommodation was situated.

2021/22 -

Row Labels

Count of Local authority

Ashford

1

Dartford

1

Eastbourne

14

Hastings

1

Maidstone

3

Medway

20

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

28

Grand Total

70

2022/23 -

Local Authority

Count

Ashford

6

Dover

1

Eastbourne

4

Maidstone

4

Medway

4

Mid Sussex

1

Sevenoaks

1

Swale

4

Tonbridge and Malling

7

Tunbridge Wells

49

Grand Total

81

2023/24 -

Row Labels

Count of Local authority

Ashford

4

Dartford

2

Eastbourne

14

Gravesham

1

Hastings

1

Lewes

1

Maidstone

19

Medway

11

Sevenoaks

23

Swale

3

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

47

Grand Total

128

2024/25 -

Row Labels

Count of Local authority

Dover

1

Eastbourne

7

Hastings

1

Maidstone

6

Medway

8

Sevenoaks

8

Swale

1

Tunbridge Wells

58

Grand Total

90

2025/26 -

Row Labels

Count of Local authority

Ashford

1

Dover

1

Eastbourne

3

Hastings

2

Maidstone

7

Medway

4

Mid Sussex

1

Rother

1

Sevenoaks

3

Tunbridge Wells

78

Grand Total

101

2026/27 (until 02/11/26) -

Row Labels

Count of Local authority

Dover

1

Eastbourne

2

Maidstone

9

Medway

3

Tunbridge Wells

44

Grand Total

59

 


3.         Destination of households who have secured accommodation at the end of the relief duty.
•           By “relief duty”, I am referring to section 189B of the Housing Act 1996, which requires housing authorities to take reasonable steps to help eligible homeless applicants secure accommodation.
•           Please provide the number of households who secured accommodation, broken down by destination local authority area.

 

2021/22 -

Row Labels

Count of Relief accommodation LA

Unknown

12

Maidstone

3

Tunbridge Wells

24

Wealden

1

Grand Total

40

2022/23 -

Row Labels

Count of Relief accommodation LA

Unknown

1

Ashford

1

Bexley

1

Canterbury

1

County Durham

1

East Staffordshire

1

Eastbourne

1

Nuneaton and Bedworth

1

Sevenoaks

1

Tonbridge and Malling

4

Tunbridge Wells

54

Grand Total

67

2023/24 -

Local Authority

Count

Birmingham

1

Bromley

1

Canterbury

1

City of London

2

Dartford

1

Eastbourne

1

Maidstone

1

Medway

1

Southwark

1

Wealden

1

Brighton and Hove

1

Tonbridge and Malling

6

Tunbridge Wells

15

Other/Blank

4

Grand Total

99

2024/25 -

Row Labels

Count of Relief accommodation LA

Unknown

1

Ashford

1

Canterbury

1

Chelmsford

1

Dover

1

Gravesham

1

Maidstone

1

Medway

1

Mid Suffolk

1

Mid Sussex

1

Sevenoaks

2

Stoke-on-Trent

1

Tonbridge and Malling

5

Torbay

1

Tunbridge Wells

79

Grand Total

98

2025/26 -

Row Labels

Count of Relief accommodation LA

Unkown

8

Ashford

1

Burnley

1

Chelmsford

1

Dartford

1

Eastbourne

1

Hastings

1

Lewisham

1

Maidstone

3

Medway

1

Mole Valley

1

Newcastle upon Tyne

1

Redbridge

1

Tonbridge and Malling

4

Tunbridge Wells

55

Wealden

2

Grand Total

83

2026/27 (until 02/11/26) -

Row Labels

Count of Relief accommodation LA

Unknown

1

Eastbourne

1

Mole Valley

1

Tonbridge and Malling

1

Tunbridge Wells

34

Grand Total

38

 



4.         Location of temporary accommodation secured for households who have been owed a main housing duty.
•           By “main housing duty”, I am referring to section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996, namely the duty to secure accommodation for applicants who are homeless, eligible for assistance, have priority need and are not intentionally homeless.
•           Please provide the number of households accommodated, broken down by the local authority area in which the accommodation was situated.

 

21-22

Row Labels

Count of Local authority

Eastbourne

2

Maidstone

2

Medway

3

Tunbridge Wells

37

Swale

1

Grand Total

45

22-23

Tunbridge Wells - 28

Medway - 2

Maidstone - 2

Total - 32

23-24

Tunbridge Wells - 2

24-25

Tunbridge Wells - 14

25-26

Tunbridge Wells - 11

Maidstone - 1

26-27 (2/11/26)

Tunbridge Wells - 4


5.         Destination of households who have accepted accommodation that brought the main housing duty to an end.
•           Please include both social housing and private rented accommodation.
•           Please provide the number of households accommodated, broken down by destination local authority area.

21-22

Row Labels

Count of Main duty ended accommodation LA

Canterbury

1

Maidstone

5

Sevenoaks

1

Tonbridge and Malling

2

Tunbridge Wells

38

Waltham Forest

1

Grand Total

48

22-23

Row Labels

Count of Main duty ended accommodation LA

Gravesham

1

Tonbridge and Malling

1

Trafford

1

Tunbridge Wells

32

Grand Total

35

23-24

Row Labels

Count of Main duty ended accommodation LA

Tunbridge Wells

28

Grand Total

28

24-25

Row Labels

Count of Main duty ended accommodation LA

Brighton and Hove

1

Tunbridge Wells

27

Grand Total

28

25-26

Row Labels

Count of Main duty ended accommodation LA

Eastbourne

1

Hastings

1

Tonbridge and Malling

1

Tunbridge Wells

26

Grand Total

29

26-27 (2/11/26)

Row Labels

Count of Main duty ended accommodation LA

Bromley

1

Tonbridge and Malling

1

Tunbridge Wells

19

Grand Total

21


6.         The number of households accommodated in your local authority area by another local housing authority, as recorded in notifications received under section 208(2) of the Housing Act 1996.
•           Please provide the name of the placing council and the number of households placed by each council.
•           Please distinguish between prevention, relief, interim accommodation and main housing duty placements, according to the duty or function recorded in the notification, where held.
•           As set out in paragraph 17.63 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, the notification requirement applies to all out-of-district placements under Part VII, not only those arranged under interim accommodation duties or the section 193(2) main housing duty.

 

Our Housing Options Team have informed us that Data provided under Section 208 will be inaccurate. There are 137 208 notifications saved in the Housing Advice inbox.


Under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 the appropriate cost limit to deal with a response is £450. At the statutory calculation of £25 per hour of work this means that a request can be considered excessive were it to take more than 18 hours of work. A request above this limit can be refused under section 12 of the Act.

We consider that this information requested would exceed the limit set out above. We have been informed by our Housing Options Team that in order to collate the information requested, (an officer would have to manually search each notification). It has been estimated that this would exceed the £450 statutory limit.


7.         The number of households for whom the council ended a prevention duty, relief duty, interim accommodation duty or main housing duty following refusal of an offer of accommodation outside your local authority area.
•           Please break these figures down by the duty ended and, where recorded, the destination local authority area of the refused offer.
•           Separately, please provide the number of applicants found intentionally homeless under section 191 of the Housing Act 1996 where the recorded reason involved refusal of an out-of-area accommodation offer and the consequent loss of accommodation previously occupied.

 

Unable to provide, we do not record this information.


Documents

There are no documents for this release.

This is Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.