New analysis by the LGA has revealed that councils are being forced to spend more than five times as much on housing people who are homeless in bed and breakfast accommodation as they were a decade ago.
It comes as rising numbers are being placed in B&Bs because of a severe shortage of housing.
Latest figures show that councils in England spent £142 million placing homeless households in B&Bs in 2019/20, compared with £26.7 million in 2010/11 – a 430 per cent increase.
Currently, there are 10,510 households in B&Bs, according to provisional data, compared with 2,310 a decade ago – an increase of more than 350 per cent.
The LGA says this underlines the desperate need to build more social housing.
It wants to work even more closely with government to tackle the current housing shortage and is calling for councils to be given further powers and resources to build 100,000 social homes for rent each year.
Cllr David Renard, LGA Housing Spokesperson, said: “Sadly, these figures reflect the scale of the housing challenges that our country faces. Councils will only use bed and breakfasts as a last resort, but the severe lack of suitable housing means they now have no choice.
“This is hugely disruptive to families with children, and the rising demand for support has come with soaring costs for councils.
“Throughout the pandemic, government has trusted councils to get on with the job of protecting the nation, supporting people and putting infrastructure in place to help with recovery.
“We want to continue this momentum and work with government to tackle the shortage of housing and build the homes the country desperately needs.”
