What is The Five Basics campaign?
This London-wide campaign calls for the most fundamental amenities that every household should expect, especially those navigating the instability of temporary accommodation:
- Cooking facilities: A safe space to prepare a hot meal,
- Laundry access: Affordable and accessible ways to wash clothes,
- WiFi: Reliable, free internet to stay connected,
- Secure storage: A place to keep personal belongings safe, and
- Clear information: Updates on rights, repairs, and move-on plans.
For families in crisis, these basics offer a lifeline, not luxury.
Councillor Danny Adilypour and Marina Ahmad, London Assembly member for Lambeth, joined families living in temporary accommodation at the launch event. Attendees heard first-hand accounts of the distressing conditions many face: disrepair and damp, single mothers with newborns sharing bathroom facilities with other residents, or individuals with terminal illnesses placed in accommodation with stairs and no lift access.
These stories make clear how London’s temporary housing system continues to fail those who rely on it most.
The scale of the crisis
Recent government statistics reveal that 172,420 children in England are living in temporary accommodation. In London alone, over 75,000 households, including approximately 97,140 children, are affected. Many of them frequently have to live without cooking facilities, laundry access, internet, and secure storage. The lack of updates on rights, repairs, and rehousing plans adds another layer of uncertainty to an already precarious situation.
Advicenow’s role: public legal education as a tool for change
As a provider of public legal education, Advicenow has spent the past seven years delivering housing rights courses to trusted intermediaries across London. Trusted intermediaries are frontline organisations that do not specialise in law, but perform a vital role in helping people navigate legal problems, connect them to sources of legal help and support the early interventions that are needed to avoid problems escalation. Evaluation of our courses highlights systemic issues, including failures within local authorities:
- Unresponsiveness and delayed correspondence,
- Poor communication and high staff turnover,
- Lack of empathy, and
- Internal policies that contradict housing legislation.
In addition, our participants also highlighted that complex procedures disproportionately negatively impact people with disabilities, those with limited literacy and non-English speakers. These barriers compound the trauma of homelessness and make it harder for families to assert their rights.
Why The Five Basics campaign matters
Shortly after we launched the campaign, the Government announced an £84 million funding package aimed at preventing homelessness and supporting families this winter, including a dedicated £11 million to help families with children in temporary accommodation access essential facilities. Advicenow, along with our partners in the campaign, welcomes this funding and the Government’s recognition of the urgent need to uphold basic standards in temporary accommodation.
This commitment aligns closely with the principles of The Five Basics campaign, which calls for minimum standards to be guaranteed for every child and family in temporary housing. This funding feels like a direct response to the voices of those affected and the tireless advocacy of campaigners who have highlighted the unacceptable conditions many families face.
While the Government’s funding is a step forward, it must be matched by robust implementation and accountability. Advicenow will continue to push for systemic change and that The Five Basics become a non-negotiable foundation for all temporary accommodation.
