Bungalow in Abergavenny would house four single homeless people

A three-bedroom bungalow is set to be bought by a council and used as temporary accommodation for four single homeless people. 

Purchase of the property will be dependent on planning permission for its use as a house of multiple occupation, known as a HMO, being approved. 

Monmouthshire County Council has funding from the Welsh Government available to buy properties to be used as temporary accommodation and reduce its use of expensive bed and breakfast hotels. 

That will provide for up to 70 per cent of the cost of buying and converting the property in an undisclosed location, in Abergavenny, with the remainder having to be found either through borrowing or from section 106 money paid by developers to the council as a contribution towards affordable housing in a local area. 

The council has £2 million borrowing headroom for purchasing properties to alleviate homelessness and £900,000 in section 106 funds. 

Financial details of the purchase, including how much the council expects to pay for the bungalow, have been kept confidential but the intention is even if borrowing powers are used it will reduce the amount paid from its revenue budget for B&B accommodation. 

Up to the end of December 2024 the council needed to make 117 new B&B placements during the financial year and expects it will have spent £1.5m on such acommodation by the end of March. 

At the end of last month the council had 30 households living in B&Bs with 28 being single people while at the same point there were the 2,087 households with a recognised housing need on its housing waiting list from a total of 3,836 households on the register. 

Length of stays in temporary accommodation is dependent on social housing becoming available and while the average period from being accepted as homeless to being provided with permanent social housing is around 12.7 months for single people it can be as long as 15.5 months. 

The council’s cabinet will be asked to consider the confidential business case and approve buying the bungalow when its meets on Wednesday, March 5 and also agree in future the cabinet member for housing, deputy leader and deputy chief executive have the power to agree to buy properties for housing the homeless.