Council to buy student flats to house homeless

A council is set to buy a block of former student flats in Leicester to help meet demand for temporary accommodation.

Leicester City Council has confirmed it is in the process of purchasing the building in York Street, which comprises 134 self-contained flats.

The authority said the move would save £2.6m a year on the rent it currently pays to landlords in the city.

The cost of the purchase will be made public when the deal has been finalised, the council added, with the money taken from a £45m pot set aside to increase housing supply in the city.

The council said the flats would help offer temporary accommodation for single people and couples who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Built in 2019, the seven-storey building includes two single-bedroomed flats which are wheelchair accessible with wet rooms.

Chris Burgin, the council's director of housing, said: "We don't want people to be in unsuitable B&B accommodation for any length of time, but with increasing numbers of people facing homelessness we have few options available to us.

"This building will provide good quality units with cooking and washing facilities which are not available in hotels and B&Bs, and will house people for between three and 18 months before they move on to permanent accommodation."

Deputy city mayor Elly Cutkelvin said the purchase of the building was "part of our wider plan to provide 1,500 new affordable homes for the city by 2027, and deliver more than 1,600 new properties".

She added: "All of these properties will go to those most in need."

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