Data, obtained by the Post using a Freedom of Information Request, reveals that Barnet Homes has moved thousands of tenants outside of the London Borough of Barnet over the last eight years. 

According to the data, between 2014 -2021, 6,733 temporary tenants were moved to council accommodation outside of the borough. The vast majority were placed in Brent and Enfield, neighbouring boroughs to Barnet. However, a significant proportion has been moved outside of London altogether. 63 were moved to Peterborough and two people have moved as far away as Manchester. 

Barnet Homes do not keep count of the number of people who have refused to be moved “as obtaining this data would require manually reviewing each individual case which would far exceed the time allowed for a Freedom of Information Act request”, they said.

So, we asked Citizens Advice in Barnet if they could give us an indication of how many council tenants contacted them to ask for advice on being moved outside of the borough. Since April 2021, they have advised 14 people on out of borough accommodation. Generally speaking, they said, people concerned about out of borough moves are anxious that they won’t be able to keep their jobs, their children will have to change schools and they will lose contact with their community, which, for some, can take years to rebuild. 

Barnet Homes said: “Where reasonably practicable, we will try to place all households within or as close as possible to the London Borough of Barnet. We will take into account jobs and education, and make every effort to keep families near these, but unfortunately, it may not always be possible.

“This is due to a lack of temporary accommodation in Barnet, and in some cases, because accommodation in Barnet may not be affordable for homeless applicants. All offers of accommodation under the homeless legislation are subject to a statutory framework including a Code of Guidance and case law. Applicants are able to seek an independent review of the suitability of the accommodation internally with a further appeal of the reviewing officers’ decision available in the county court.” 

For more on this story, read: Barnet mother of two concerned that she could be housed anywhere in the UK