London councils face scrutiny over controversial relocation of vulnerable families

A Guardian investigation has uncovered a systematic practice whereby London councils are relocating vulnerable homeless families, including women fleeing abuse, to deprived towns in northern England such as Bolton, Blackpool, and Hartlepool. The findings indicate that the number of homeless people forced out of the capital has doubled in the past two years, rising from 670 households in the year to March 2023 to approximately 1,300 in the year to March 2025. Critics, including MPs and charities, argue the policy is inhumane and unlawful, claiming it exploits vulnerable refugees and strains social services in host communities.

Under the Housing Act, local authorities are required to find accommodation within their borough wherever reasonably practical, or notify other local authorities if placements occur outside the area. However, several London councils have been found by the High Court to have acted unlawfully in recent years by routinely flouting these provisions. Housing lawyers and council leaders suggest that some boroughs are paying private companies to move families hundreds of miles away, often in one-way taxis and sometimes in the dead of night, with minimal notice or furnishings.

Financial records reveal significant expenditure by councils on intermediary firms to facilitate these moves. Croydon council signed a £1 million contract with Reloc8 last year, which specialises in moving homeless families out of the capital. Enfield council has paid more than £894,000 to the firm since August 2023. Reloc8 claims to have moved more than 400 homeless households out of London, including 180 in a six-month period, describing this as a 70 per cent increase on the previous term. The firm advertises that it only requires landlords to provide the minimum of a cooker and fridge freezer, and in certain cases, beds.

The human cost of these relocations has been highlighted by specific cases, including an Albanian woman who fled sex trafficking and was unlawfully told to move from Ealing to County Durham. When she raised concerns, Ealing council provided details for support organisations in Durham, North Carolina, and Durham, Ontario, rather than the UK. The woman, who won a High Court battle against the council last year, described feeling stressed and uncared for. Similarly, in 2024, Reloc8 moved a woman and her two children 250 miles from Uxbridge to a sparsely furnished house outside Darlington the day after she was discharged from hospital, leaving them to fend for themselves.

London Councils, which represents the capital’s 32 boroughs, stated that most placements were to counties bordering London but called on the government to address unsustainable homelessness levels. Enfield and Ealing councils denied breaching the Housing Act, asserting that they always notified other local authorities and did not discriminate against non-English speaking residents. However, critics such as Jonathan Brash, Labour MP for Hartlepool, described the practice as a disgrace that is ripping at the social fabric of northern communities already struggling with housing shortages and public service pressures.