Merthyr Tydfil: Plans for more housing for homeless as demand surges

A plan to increase the amount of supported housing for the homeless in Merthyr Tydfil has been agreed.

The council also plans to increase the number of HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation) as it seeks to reduce its temporary accommodation costs.

A council report said Merthyr Tydfil had become over-reliant on the use of bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation.

Councils must provide temporary accommodation for homeless people until permanent accommodation can be found.

The report, cited by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, said that the use of B&Bs for the length of time required by the council was unlawful but added that Welsh government recognised the need to use them while councils tried to solve high levels of homelessness.

"We must develop more supported accommodations looking at conversions of existing buildings in the short term and including provisions on areas of land or new development sites for the medium and longer term," the council report said.

The report said that the demand for temporary accommodation was at "unprecedented" levels in Merthyr Tydfil.

Single bedroom homes and additional supported accommodation were particularly required to meet the need in the town.

If the council continues to rely on temporary accommodation to house people who are homeless, the cost is forecast to be around £2.9m for 2022/2023, or around £2.4m after a Welsh Government grant.

The Welsh Government grant award for the council for 2023/2024 towards temporary accommodation costs is £474,986, £1.38m less than the grant offered in the previous year when a grant claim for £1.85m was approved to secure B&B accommodation.