The new strategy is part of an effort to buy cheaper property up north instead of paying high rents to landlords in London, reports James Cracknell and David Humphreys, Local Democracy Reporter

A view across Liverpool, the River Mersey and the Wirral — A view across Liverpool, the River Mersey and Wirral Peninsula (credit James Cracknell)

Enfield Council has confirmed it is looking to buy properties in the Liverpool region to house local homeless people.

Despite being located more than 200 miles away, the council’s wholly-owned company Housing Gateway Ltd is aiming to purchase 28 properties “around the Liverpool area” in the coming months, although none have yet been bought.

The strategy is separate to the ongoing civic centre policy of moving homeless families to far-flung parts of the country such as Hartlepool and Durham, which is being done through offers of housing owned by private landlords and began in 2023.

Instead, the Liverpool strategy is looking at the outright purchase of cheap properties that homeless Enfield families will then be moved to as temporary accommodation, via Housing Gateway.

A report published last December stated it was “more cost effective” for the council to own the temporary housing it offers than to lease it and would target piloting a scheme in the Liverpool region. It added: “This will enable residents to be in the local area where they can seek to find suitable, long-term accommodation.

“Leasing temporary accommodation [TA] is a huge cost pressure for Enfield which is not sustainable indefinitely. It is therefore important that Enfield reduce the amount of TA in use.”

Last week a council spokesperson confirmed the Liverpool strategy was being taken forward, although no homes had been purchased to date.

They said: “Enfield Council is committed to providing safe, stable, and affordable housing for our residents who are experiencing homelessness. In recent years, the significant shortage of affordable rental homes in Enfield and across London has impacted our ability to place families in suitable homes within the borough.

“This crisis has been worsened by rising rents, a collapsing private rental sector for affordable homes within Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, and an increasing number of families and residents facing homelessness. To ensure that residents have access to secure, long-term stable homes, we have taken the difficult but necessary step of looking into the possibility of buying a small number of residential properties in more affordable areas, including the wider Liverpool area, though not in the City of Liverpool.

“At this time, no properties have been acquired in the Liverpool area.”

Well over 100 families have already been moved many miles away from Enfield into private accommodation as part of the policy introduced in 2023, which the Dispatch revealed last year included places as far away as Hartlepool.

Regarding the new Liverpool strategy, the spokesperson added: “Where possible, we continue to seek housing solutions closer to Enfield. Our focus remains on increasing the supply of affordable homes. We will continue to work with the government to address our borough’s housing needs.”

Enfield Council’s move to buy homes in Merseyside has angered politicians in the area, however. Carl Cashman, leader of Liverpool Liberal Democrats, said: “In Liverpool, we’ve already got a temporary accommodation bill for our residents – it’s ballooned in size, now it’s costing the taxpayers millions every year.

“This isn’t kicking the can down the road, this is kicking it across the other side of the country. This is not good for people being moved nor the communities they are being moved to.”

Separately, The Observer reported yesterday (Sunday 16th) that Enfield topped a list of local councils for the number of homeless families where they had ended their legal duties in 2024.

As part of its stricter policies aiming to reduce the use of emergency accommodation such as hotels, the council introduced a single-offer approach which meant only one offer of private housing would be made before a ‘cessation of duty’, which is where the council discharges its legal obligation to house homeless people.

The Observer obtained data via the Freedom of Information Act from around 80% of English councils, finding legal duties to 615 households were ended after they refused offers of housing outside the local authority area in 2024. But of this total figure, Enfield Council was responsible for 115 cases, the highest found anywhere.

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