London's escalating housing emergency has prompted a major campaign, backed by the Mayor and MPs across the political spectrum, demanding urgent legislative change. MyLondon's Broken Homes investigation throughout 2025 has exposed the severe human cost of the crisis, leading to four key calls for action to protect vulnerable residents.
The Four Demands for a Fairer System
The campaign is calling for concrete, nationwide reforms. First, it demands a universal distance cap on temporary accommodation placements across England to end the current postcode lottery. This would stop councils from sending families hundreds of miles away, sometimes for years.
Second, it seeks a ban on councils being allowed to discharge their legal duty to house someone who refuses an unreasonable long-distance offer, a practice that often leaves people with an impossible choice between isolation and homelessness.
Third, the campaign calls for specific legislation to force landlords to repair broken lifts within 24 or 48 hours, preventing people with limited mobility from being trapped in their homes. This would be supported by a national strategy for ensuring spare parts are available.
Finally, it urges the creation of a better system of cooperation between councils to manage temporary housing, ending the counterproductive competition that fuels bidding wars and inflates prices.
Cross-Party Political Backing for Change
The campaign's proposals have garnered significant political support. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan stated that tackling the housing crisis is a top priority, acknowledging the campaign's role in spotlighting the issues caused by historic underfunding of affordable homes.
Labour MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, Andy Slaughter, highlighted the detrimental impact of distant temporary accommodation, saying it disconnects families from vital support networks, jobs, and schools. He endorsed the campaign's focus on ensuring safe and sanitary conditions for all Londoners.
Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater, welcomed the campaign, aligning it with his own Safe and Healthy Homes initiative. He noted the Government's commitment to extending Awaab's Law to temporary accommodation as a positive step.
Independent MP for Poplar and Limehouse, Apsana Begum, backed the call for urgent lift repair legislation, emphasising the severe impact on disabled and older residents who are left trapped and in fear.
The Human Cost of a Broken System
The campaign's investigations laid bare the stark realities. It found nearly 75,000 London households living in temporary accommodation, with families routinely displaced to locations as far as the North East of England.
Reporters visited 21 housing blocks with faulty lifts, documenting how residents with mobility issues were imprisoned in their own homes for weeks or months. The investigation also revealed how councils are forced to compete against each other to buy properties, worsening the overall market crisis.
Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett stressed the disproportionate impact on Black and brown families, while Liberal Democrat AM Hina Bokhari described the 'take it or leave it' long-distance offers as heart-breaking. East Ham MP Sir Stephen Timms supported exploring a national distance cap, citing the severe disruption to children's education and family stability.
MyLondon has launched a petition to the UK Government calling for an end to the practice of making people homeless for refusing distant moves. The campaign underscores that while the crisis was years in the making, these four key changes can provide immediate relief and a path toward a more just housing system for London.
