A local news website has uncovered a ‘postcode lottery’ in emergency housing allocation with some people being placed in temporary homes 250 miles away.

MyLondon carried out a detailed investigation into how different London boroughs dealt with the need for temporary accommodation with wide variations in how people were rehoused.

The Reach-owned website found that some councils are placing people in temporary homes as far away as Newcastle and Middlesbrough, sometimes for years at a time, while others keep people within 30 miles.

One family-of-four spent eight years in a ‘temporary’ home in Middlesbrough – about 250 miles away from their home borough – having been placed there by Newham Council.

Another council, Ealing, has had a family living in Newcastle – 278 miles away – since March 2024.

The findings, based on data covering the years 2020-2024, were put together by local democracy content editor Dave Comeau, pictured.

He also revealed that if someone refuses to accept a property hundreds of miles away, the council can legally refuse to continue to help that person on the grounds that their refusal was unreasonable.

MyLondon wants to see a ban on councils discharging their housing duty to someone if they refuse an offer of housing that is more than a set distance from their home borough

Deanne Blaylock, MyLondon editor, said: “I’m really proud of this fantastic investigation by Dave Comeau in partnership with our data team at Reach, as part of our Broken Homes campaign which has been running for the past two months.

“We feel it is so important to highlight the inconsistencies to our readers in the capital among London boroughs. It is shocking how one family may be temporarily rehomed close to their support network, while a neighbour on their street or a family in the next borough may be moved hundreds of miles to the other end of the country for years on end.

“MyLondon has long been reporting on the shocking state of the city’s homes and the spiralling crisis of thousands of people vying for a seemingly decreasing number of suitable properties. We now need answers.

“That is why we are calling for action from the government to offer a degree of uniformity, while also demanding a ban on councils discharging their housing duty to someone if they refuse an offer of housing miles away.

“The Broken Homes campaign has been shining a light on the root causes of this housing crisis and analysing what can be done to start solving this crisis.

“We’re proud of our city – we’re still a key player on the world stage – but we must improve things closer to home, after all, everyone deserves one.”