Half of local authorities charged double by landlords and hotel owners for temporary housing, investigation finds‘It feels very much like a prison’: inside a cramped Birmingham homeless hostelPrivate landlords and hotel owners are charging councils far in excess of market rent to house people who would otherwise end up on the street, an investigation has found, laying bare the depth of England’s homelessness crisis.Local authorities in England are paying 60% more for rooms in places such as bed and breakfasts and hostels than it would cost to rent similar-sized accommodation on the private market, with half of them spending double the local going rate. Continue reading...