London councils could soon be banned from “dumping” homeless families hundreds of miles across England, as ministers consider measures to curb a practice that has grown during Britain’s housing crisis. MPs say vulnerable people - including women fleeing abuse - are being “coerced” into choosing between rough sleeping and moving to cheap, sparsely furnished properties in some of the poorest parts of the country. Charities report that some domestic abuse victims have returned to their abuser rather than move north, while others are stuck in emergency refuges.
After a Guardian investigation, Florence Eshalomi, chair of the Commons housing select committee, urged ministers to “seriously examine introducing a limit on the distance of all out-of-area placements.” Homelessness minister Alison McGovern called the practice a “real worry” and said the government is prepared to “clamp down on the worst form of it” after a current review. Government guidance already states that out-of-area placements should “never be determined on the basis of cost alone,” but McGovern noted that “something is clearly not working here.” Any ban would likely include exceptions for people who need to leave London.
Jonathan Brash, Labour MP for Hartlepool, called for the law to be “radically tightened,” saying the policy is increasing local tension and “ripping at the social fabric” of his town. “It is not fair, it is not sustainable, and it is time it stopped,” he added. Under the Housing Act, councils must find accommodation in their borough “so far as reasonably practical,” but several London councils have been found by the high court to have acted unlawfully in recent years. Housing lawyers, charities, MPs, and council leaders say some are routinely flouting the law.
Some London councils pay millions to intermediary companies for often unfurnished flats more than 200 miles from the capital. Last year, about a dozen local authorities spent over £140 million buying properties to house homeless people outside London, including in Liverpool and Coventry. A Derbyshire firm called Reloc8 has been paid about £2 million by Croydon and Enfield councils to facilitate these moves. Sophie Earnshaw, a solicitor at housing charity Shelter, said such companies offer a “quick fix” but are “cashing in on the housing emergency.” Reloc8 responded that it has “many success stories” from those moved.
The total number of homeless families dispatched across England is unknown, as several councils don’t keep a central tally, but official figures show the number moved out of London doubled from 670 in the year to March 2023 to 1,300 in the year to March 2025 - and the true figure is believed higher. London Councils, representing the capital’s 32 boroughs, said most placements are to bordering counties and that it has met with north-east England local authorities. One domestic abuse victim was placed 200 miles from London, surrounded by drunk and aggressive men, and eventually ran away. Bo Bottomley of Refuge charity said unsuitable housing forces survivors to stay in refuges longer, creating a cycle where others can’t access emergency spaces. Charities also note councils often ignore cultural and religious needs: one Muslim woman was sent to a predominantly white village in the north-east where the nearest mosque was 90 minutes away by bus.