About the Housing Solutions service
Housing Solutions facts and figures
This document is intended to provide some key facts and figures on housing in Southwark and also explain some background data.
Customer satisfaction statistics
The gateway customer service team delivers excellent client-focused support, with customer satisfaction at 56% currently this year.
Housing Solutions services performance data - April 2021
|
Performance area |
April 2020 |
April 2021 |
Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Homeless decisions |
319 decisions |
300 decisions |
-6% |
|
Homeless applications received |
284 |
219 |
-23% |
|
Responses to elected members within the corporate timeframe |
97% |
91% |
-6% |
|
Responses to complaints within the corporate timeframe |
91% |
91% |
Maintained |
|
Outstanding housing register applications |
925 |
668 |
-27.78% |
|
Rough sleeping numbers |
0 |
14 |
|
|
Compliments |
1st most compliments received in the council |
1st most compliments received in the council |
|
|
Average phone waiting time |
New measure. Last April average wait for phone calls = 3 minutes 16 seconds |
1 minute 57 seconds |
New measure. Improvement in waiting time. |
Number of properties in Southwark
- 132,630 - total number of properties (houses, flats, bungalows etc) in Southwark
The make-up of those properties (owned outright, rented, social etc)
- 31% of properties are owner occupied properties
- 31% of properties are Southwark Council properties
- 26% of properties are rented from the private sector
- 12% of properties are “socially owned” (rented by the housing associations)
As you can see, we have a very limited supply of council homes. There are almost twice as many homes in the private rental sector and owner occupied sector than Southwark Council accommodation.
The demand for council housing
Homeless customers
- in 2020-2021, 4,000 approached the Housing Solutions service for homelessness prevention advice, assistance and support, of which:
- 2,390 customers were accepted as homeless
- only 3,669 made a homeless application
- as of 31 September 2021, 3,405 households were living in “emergency temporary accommodation”
As you can see, many people come to us for advice and to discuss their options.
The government website holds the latest data on homelessness in Southwark, including the numbers approaching Southwark as homeless, rough sleeping statistics and other data.
Registered for social housing (a council or housing association property)
- on 7 October 2021, there were 16,235 customers on our housing register
- these are people who are eligible to apply for a council or housing association home
- they're listed in line with their level of need and the length of time they've been waiting
There are many great options for finding a new home, plus support for staying in your current home. Find more information about your housing solutions.
Page last updated: 31 May 2023
