Illegal children’s homes cost councils over £350m in a year, report finds

Councils have spent more than £350m on placing children in illegal accommodation over the past year, research has found.

According to a report by the Children’s Commissioner, roughly £353m had been spent by local authorities on illegal homes for children by September 2025.

The report confirms that the types of unlawful accommodation included caravans, holiday rentals, or AirBnBs, with the lack of ‘formal inspection or scrutiny’ of these settings meaning that children face a greater risk of harm.

Although the research reveals that 764 fewer children were living in illegal accommodation in September 2025 compared to the previous year, Dame Rachel de Souza emphasised the ‘wide failings’ of the system, given that some of the children had been included in last year’s data and were shown to still be living in illegal settings 12 months later.

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