Temporary housing pressures mount as one-bed supply falls short

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

Temporary accommodation pressures continue to mount in a Welsh county, with the supply of one-bedroom accommodation far outstripped by the numbers of single people in need of homes.

A lack of available “move-on” accommodation in Caerphilly means people are often housed in the meantime at hotels or bed and breakfasts – piling financial pressure on the council while also leading to longer stays in what are meant to be temporary arrangements.

Cllr Shayne Cook, the cabinet member for housing, said the trend is affecting all local authorities, and Caerphilly is developing specialist accommodation for people with additional needs.

He said helping people to move on to a permanent home is being made more challenging because a growing number of residents require “more complex” housing support and may “find it difficult sustaining a tenancy”.

Between April 2025 and January 2026, single-person households accounted for 70% of the council’s temporary accommodation users – but only 20% of the council’s housing stock is one-bedroom accommodation.

A Welsh issue

Speaking at a recent scrutiny committee meeting, Nick Taylor-Williams, the council’s director of housing, said rising demand for single-person housing was “not just a Caerphilly issue necessarily, it is a Welsh issue”.

Compounding the issue are legislative changes, leading to “a lot of private landlords exiting the market, putting more pressure on people that were in private rented accommodation who are now being priced out” because there is more competition for fewer homes.

Fewer private landlords means councils are “more reliant” on temporary accommodation as a stop-gap, he explained, adding that a lot of people in that situation are single men.

This year, Caerphilly Council is forecasting a £774,000 overspend on housing, which a report states is “mainly” down to increasing demand for temporary accommodation – an “ongoing issue for the past few years”.

Cllr Cook said the local authority had “expanded” its temporary accommodation options “to include more tailored, cost-effective solutions that better meet the needs of individuals with specialist requirements”.

These include a transitional scheme for supported accommodation, designed for people leaving staffed housing.

Cllr Cook said this six-unit scheme “significantly reduces staffing costs and supports smoother transitions into permanent housing”.

Mental health support

Another scheme has been developed specifically for people moving on from mental health supported accommodation, he added.

The council has also set up some properties for people who no longer require support, which “provide safe, stable housing without the need for ongoing intervention, helping to free up supported accommodation for those with higher needs and significantly reducing long-term reliance on temporary accommodation”.

Cllr Cook said the council also commissions psychology services and works with two GP surgeries to run drop-in clinics and appointments specifically for people in temporary accommodation, and in the next 18 months hopes to start a new housing initiative for people who have “complex co-occurring needs”, supported by specialist staff.