Chichester District Council set to buy three-bedroom home for temporary housing

The recommendation was made during a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday (September 1) and will be put to the full council for approval later this month.

A report to the cabinet said that an offer had been made and accepted on the home – subject to contract – while the opportunity to buy a four-bedroom home was also being explored.

The proposal to buy the semi-detached house was made possible thanks to a £1.6m grant from the government under Round 4 of the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF).

The aim of the LAHF is to reduce the use of expensive nightly-paid accommodation such as bed & breakfast for families in need – and also to provide settled housing for Afghan families being supported through the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

To receive the grant, the council has to deliver both parts – four homes for temporary accommodation and four for the resettlement programme.

The council also has to contribute to the cost of the homes. Over the past three rounds of funding since 2023, the grant has covered around 40 per cent of the cost of the 34 homes purchased. But the meeting was told the council was ‘unlikely’ to receive any more grant money for the next four years.

During the meeting, the cabinet also recommended that a £350,000 limit be placed on the price of any homes it may buy under the LAHF scheme – the current limit is £250,000.

Oona Hickson, cabinet member for housing, revenues & benefits, explained that current market conditions meant there was more opportunity to buy larger properties than originally anticipated – essentially giving the council ‘more bang per buck’.