Reflection on the Impact of Temporary Homeless Accommodation on Women
The UN’s 2026 International Women’s Day Theme
This year, the United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” The theme calls for action to dismantle structural barriers to equal justice, including discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, harmful practices, and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls. It also advocates for inclusive and equitable legal systems.
At TV Edwards, we are committed to empowering women to assert and defend their rights. We believe that properly funded and accessible legal aid is essential to achieving this. In the Housing Team, we act for clients under legal aid funding to hold local authorities accountable by challenging:
- Gatekeeping of homelessness assistance
- Unlawful homelessness decisions
- Offers of unsuitable temporary and permanent accommodation
The Gendered Impact of Homelessness
Through our work in the Housing Team, we observe the specific and often disproportionate effects of the UK’s ongoing housing crisis on women. Women’s experiences of street homelessness often differ from men’s, partly due to increased safety threats on the streets.
The Rough Sleeping Snapshot in England (Autumn 2025) reports that 15% of people sleeping rough on a single night were women. However, there is long-standing concern that official government statistics undercount women, as many take steps to stay out of sight to avoid harassment, exploitation, and violence, which makes them less likely to be recorded as rough sleepers. This under-representation is thought to affect service provision for women experiencing homelessness.
Legal Duties Regarding Temporary Accommodation
Where a local authority has reason to believe that a homeless applicant may be eligible for homeless assistance, homeless and in priority need, they are under a duty to provide emergency temporary accommodation. Where a local authority accepts that a homeless applicant is eligible, homeless, in priority need and not intentionally homeless and is therefore owed the main housing duty, they must secure that accommodation is made available to the applicant and their household until the main housing duty is discharged. Delays in final accommodation offers often result in applicants remaining in temporary accommodation for months or even years.
Women and Temporary Accommodation Statistics
Research by Shelter (December 2021) highlights the gendered impact of temporary accommodation:
- Women make up 51% of adults in England but 60% of adults in temporary accommodation
- Most women in temporary accommodation are mothers with dependent children
- Lone mother families comprise one-third of all households in temporary accommodation meaning they are hugely over-represented
- Households led by Black applicants are significantly overrepresented in temporary accommodation
- Disabled parents, or parents of disabled children face disproportionate risks
Suitability of Temporary Accommodation
The law is clear that temporary accommodation must be suitable for a household’s specific needs. Suitability includes factors such as:
- Space and arrangement
- Location
- Affordability
- Overcrowding
- Accessibility
- Physical condition
- Safety risks
The Homelessness Code of Guidance sets out a wide range of factors authorities must consider when assessing suitability.
In reality, temporary accommodation can be of a poor standard, can include shared facilities and can be far away from the relevant local authority’s own area. Temporary accommodation, by its very nature, creates instability. Homeless households can be left in temporary accommodation for years and be required to move out of the blue and multiple times. This instability is compounded by the fact that homeless households are often required to respond to offers of temporary accommodation on the very same day and move at extremely short notice, which can be very difficult in light of work and childcare commitments and school attendance. This can be profoundly destabilising and can exacerbate existing mental health conditions and trauma of those experiencing homelessness.
Difficulties in Challenging the Suitability of Temporary Accommodation
Persuading local authorities and courts that temporary accommodation is unsuitable can be difficult. The Courts are aware of the acute difficulties facing local authorities in providing good quality accommodation in their area and tend to allow quite wide discretion in placing households in different locations and accommodation types.
Homelessness law is complex and it can be confusing for homeless applicants to determine the correct route to challenge the suitability of their accommodation. Applicants will need to consider whether to pursue a challenge by statutory review, statutory appeal, or judicial review, and each option comes with its own strict timeframes, procedural requirements, and technical considerations. It can also be daunting to pursue a suitability challenge in circumstances where people experiencing homelessness may be exhausted, far from their vital support networks, struggling to cope with health conditions and past trauma, juggling caring responsibilities and trying to keep their children in school.
Furthermore, the evidential burden to persuade local authorities and the courts that temporary accommodation is unsuitable can be high and often requires compelling evidence from experts and professionals. Many homeless applicants struggle to obtain such evidence whilst battling with the everyday realities of homelessness and residing in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Rights, Justice, and Access to Legal Support
Reflecting on the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, the right to suitable temporary accommodation, where the relevant criteria are met, does exists on paper. Legal mechanisms are in place to challenge unsuitability, as set out above.
The consequences of unlawful decisions can be immediate and devastating with women and their families often left in unsuitable accommodation which has a detrimental impact on their health and welfare. The ability to assert and enforce rights often depends on access to timely and affordable legal advice and representation. With legal advice deserts growing across the country, many women are prevented from obtaining timely legal help to challenge the suitability of their temporary accommodation, even where the law provides a route for such challenges. Real access to justice for women in unsuitable temporary accommodation therefore requires action from the government to properly invest in housing legal aid.
Systemic Solutions Beyond Legal Challenges
Furthermore, there must be action from Government to address the chronic shortage of genuinely affordable, secure housing. Without significant investment in social housing and effective measures to reduce reliance on poor-quality temporary accommodation, the system will remain stuck in crisis. Legal challenges can secure justice for individuals, but lasting change requires systemic solutions that prevent homelessness in the first place and reduce the need for families, that are disproportionately led by women, to live for months or years in, often unsuitable, temporary accommodation.
Conclusion
International Women’s Day is a reminder that equal rights must be resourced, defended, and enforced. The call for “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls” must include the right to secure and suitable accommodation, along with the practical means to obtain it.
Disclaimer: The information on the TV Edwards website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication.
