Council agrees sale of former Essex office block used to house homeless families

However the deal will include a leaseback clause that allows the council to continue using it for ten years

Enfield Council has agreed to sell a large building in Essex – but still plans to use it for housing homeless families from the borough.

Greenway House, a former office block on a business park in Harlow, was converted into temporary accommodation to house homeless residents in 2018, but has been plagued by problems going back several years.

The building was affected by flooding in 2021 that left some flats plagued by damp and mould. The following year the council told some people they would have to move out of the building while it carried out renovation work, although 32 families have continued to live on the ground floor.

Housing Gateway Ltd, a company wholly owned by the council, now plans to sell Greenway House to a buyer that has not been publicly named. However, the sale would come with a requirement for the building to be leased back to the council for another ten years “in order to fulfil its statutory homelessness responsibilities”.

A council report published last month stated that Greenway House “requires substantial works, including roof replacement and fire safety remediation, with significant estimated costs”.

The deal, it states, would see “the council assume repair, management, maintenance and insurance obligations whilst the buyer would retain responsibility over externals, the roof, lift and insurance of the building”.

Property website The Move Market states Greenway House was bought by the council for £3.6million in 2016 and could be worth up to £4.4m now.

Describing the issues Housing Gateway has encountered since the building was purchased, the report states: “Building control signed off the conversion prior to purchase. However, subsequent findings during a fire risk assessment identified failings in fire compartmentation, escape travel distances and the roof, requiring significant major works to meet regulations. Legal action against the vendor was explored, but unable to be pursued.

“As a result, to ensure safety, the upper (first and second) floors were decanted, unable to be re-occupied unless major works were completed to rectify defects. The ground floor remains occupied in line with the fire strategy, providing accommodation to 32 households.”

It adds: “The building currently requires substantial investment to address fire safety, building regulations compliance and other major repair requirements.”

Even with the proposed sale and leaseback arrangement, the council report states that the building would remain cheaper for the council to use as temporary housing compared to the average nightly paid accommodation it arranges with private landlords.

The latest government figures show that out of 3,084 Enfield families in temporary accommodation as of 31st March 2026, nearly half – 1,410 – were being placed in nightly paid private lodgings.

The council report on selling Greenway House concludes: “The arrangement secures significant unit volume for temporary accommodation, transfers significant lifecycle risk to the landlord, avoids substantial capital expenditure requirements, and is expected to generate ongoing temporary accommodation cost avoidance.”

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