The Housing Assurance Board of Croydon Council met on Monday 9 March 2026 to discuss a range of issues concerning homelessness and housing needs within the borough. The meeting's agenda included an overview of homelessness services, a briefing on the national strategy to end homelessness, and updates on demand management, temporary accommodation, and customer experience within the housing services.

Homelessness and Housing Needs Overview

The board was scheduled to receive an overview of the council's homelessness services and housing needs. This would have provided context for the subsequent discussions, outlining the scope and function of various teams within the service, including the Homeless Intervention Prevention Team, the Homeless Support Team, the Rough Sleeping Team, and the Procurement & Contracts Team. The report highlighted that Croydon is experiencing significant demand pressure, with a high number of households in temporary accommodation and waiting for permanent homes, a situation intensified by the London housing market.

National Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy

A briefing was planned on the UK Government's A National Plan to End Homelessness, published in December 2025. This strategy aims to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring by focusing on prevention and addressing the root causes of homelessness, such as housing and poverty. The strategy is structured around five key themes: long-term sustainable change, shifting from crisis to prevention, immediate action on the worst forms of homelessness, transformed accountability, and a focus on youth and care leavers. It also includes significant government investment and new legal duties for public services to collaborate in preventing and addressing homelessness.

Homelessness Demand Management

The board was set to receive an update on homelessness demand management. The report indicated that Croydon had seen a substantial increase in people seeking homeless support, with a significant rise in applications in 2024/25. However, there had been a notable improvement in performance, with a reduction in new placements into temporary accommodation as a percentage of all applicants. Actions taken included promoting self-service housing options, implementing an appointment only service, and working with private landlords to prevent evictions.

Temporary Accommodation

An update on temporary accommodation was scheduled, detailing the challenges faced, including poor standards among some private sector landlords and the overuse of commercial hotels. Actions taken to address these issues included developing an approved landlord scheme, ending the use of commercial hotels for extended periods, and procuring quality accommodation. The report also highlighted that 70% of households in temporary accommodation were within Croydon, with 30% located outside the borough.

Customer Experience

The board was to receive an update on the customer experience of homelessness services. Challenges identified included a lack of direct customer contact, long waiting times for appointments, and poor telephone response times, leading to an unsatisfactory customer experience. Actions implemented since September 2023 included a new service operating model providing face-to-face appointments, reduced waiting times, and ongoing training for staff. The report indicated improved relationships with voluntary and statutory partners through a quarterly Homelessness Forum.

Forward Plan

Finally, the board was scheduled to receive an update on the Forward Plan, which outlines future deep dive items for upcoming meetings. The Chair suggested that future discussions should include the Rent Standard, rent convergence, Ofgem regulation of heat networks, and HR issues.