Ealing Council's draft five-year plan to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping is open for comment until 18 December. Here is what it proposes and how to take part.

Ealing Council has published a draft five-year plan to prevent homelessness and cut rough sleeping, and it wants residents’ views before 18 December.

The consultation opened on 30 October. Anyone who lives, works, studies or spends time in the borough can take part, the council said on 4 November.

The scale of the problem

The council gives three figures for the pressure it faces:

  • more than 3,000 homelessness assessments carried out in 2024/25
  • 642 people recorded sleeping rough in the borough the following year
  • more than 2,500 households living in temporary accommodation now

What the draft strategy proposes

The draft has four aims:

  • preventing homelessness before it happens
  • helping people find settled homes more quickly
  • improving life for households in temporary accommodation
  • helping people rebuild their lives after homelessness

It sets six priorities. They include making prevention “a shared responsibility” across services, giving more help to people at greater risk of losing their home, and supporting households in a crisis.

The council also says the plan covers better access to housing advice, more temporary accommodation, earlier support to reduce rough sleeping, and closer work with partners on the causes of homelessness.

Councillor Louise Brett, deputy leader and cabinet member for safe and genuinely affordable homes, said residents’ experiences and ideas were “vital to this work”. She said too many residents face uncertainty “because of rising housing costs, a shortage of affordable homes, and other pressures”.

How to take part

The survey is on the council’s Have Your Say site. The council says:

  • it takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and most questions can be skipped
  • answers from the public are anonymous
  • taking part will not affect any housing application or homelessness assessment
  • translation is available once you start, including Somali, Ukrainian, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and Panjabi

An outside organisation will also run drop-in events, workshops and targeted conversations. The council names groups it wants to hear from, including young people, care leavers, people sleeping rough, families in temporary accommodation, domestic abuse survivors, refugees and disabled residents.

Timeline of Ealing Council's homelessness strategy: public consultation 30 October to 18 December 2026; analysis and summary of findings 19 December to 18 January 2027; council review 19 January to 7 February 2027; deliberation and final strategy 8 February to 31 March 2027
What happens after the consultation closes. Graphic by The Ealing Post. Source: Ealing Council, Have Your Say project timeline, read 5 November 2026.
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

What happens next

The project’s own timeline sets out the steps after the survey closes:

Dates Stage
30 Oct to 18 Dec 2026 Public consultation
19 Dec 2026 to 18 Jan 2027 Analysis and a summary of findings
19 Jan to 7 Feb 2027 Council review and feedback
8 Feb to 31 Mar 2027 Deliberation and final strategy

The council says the final strategy will go for approval next year.

What it means for you

  • If you are homeless or at risk now, do not wait for the strategy. The council’s Homelessness Advice team takes enquiries at HomelessnessAdvice@ealing.gov.uk, and you can report someone sleeping rough through StreetLink.
  • If you are in temporary accommodation, the survey is a direct way to say what needs to change, and the council says it will not affect your case. Our story on where Ealing places homeless households explains the three zones Cabinet agreed in October.
  • The deadline is 18 December.

Sources