Oxford councillors approve £10m homeless family housing scheme

The housing will be primarily for homeless families in Oxford

Oxford city councillors have backed a £10m fund to buy 50 houses for homeless families.

The one and two-bedroom flats will mean families in need can be homed locally and will not need to be put in temporary B&B accommodation.

The rent would be £834 a month, compared with the average of £1,091 in Oxford for a two-bedroom property.

Only those who have a strong connection to Oxford will be eligible to be rehomed in the scheme.

The council's City Executive Board approved the property fund at a meeting on Thursday evening. It will be up for full council approval in September.

'More cost effective'

The fund will be used to buy homes in Oxford city or near the city, including in Kidlington, Botley or Abingdon.

Previously families from Oxford were offered temporary accommodation as far as 60 miles away in Coventry.

The properties would be owned by the investors in the fund, which includes £5m from Oxford City Council, and will be managed by homeless charity St Mungo's Broadway.

The council would make a return of about 3% a year from rental income.

The council's lead member for housing, Scott Seamons, said: "With rising rents and cuts to in-work benefits it is becoming harder and harder to meet the council's statutory requirement to house families who are homeless in Oxford.

"In order to meet the needs of those families more cost effectively we are investing in a property fund, which will allow us to house them in locations that are near the city - saving money in temporary accommodation costs, whilst also representing an investment for the council."

Oxford was named the least affordable city in the UK by the Centre for Cities Outlook.