‘Much-needed’ flats for homeless people sit empty

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According to the council, the old student block, built in 2019, would provide “much-needed” accommodation for homeless people currently in B&Bs or hotels.

Filling these 134 units would slash the council’s yearly spend by £2.8m, saving in outsourced housing costs.

However, more than a year on from the deal being made, the building is still empty.

At the time of the purchase, Councillor Patrick Kitterick (Green) raised concerns about the plan, but his formal ‘call-in’ was voted down.

He feared that this deal could also set a precedent for more “poor quality” student accommodation to be “flipped” into the “warehousing of vulnerable people”, and has raised concerns about applications for smaller student accommodation on this basis since.

Cllr Kitterick questioned if the Yoho site was still vacant because it was not meeting national regulations.

Documents obtained from a Freedom of Information request reveal that the certificate from the Building Safety Regulator which permits occupation has not yet been applied for.

They also show no target date for occupation has been set.

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However, the city council explained that it needs to acquire the certificate permitting building works first. This application was submitted in February 2026.

They say the building works are not to make the property compliant with national regulations, but to meet planning stipulations and the model for new emergency temporary accommodation.

In the meantime, 24-hour on-site security is costing between £10,000-20,000 a month.

A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: “The purchase of the Yoho building is a vital part of our plans to ensure that no-one needs to stay in unsuitable emergency temporary accommodation for any length of time.

“Once open, the new service will allow the council to move away from the need to use expensive bed and breakfast accommodation for those facing homelessness and is projected to save the authority around £2.8 million per year.

“It will provide high quality units with cooking and clothes washing facilities which are not available in hotels and B&Bs. The new service will provide secure housing people for between three and 18 months before they move on to permanent accommodation.

“We are currently in the process of applying for Gateway 2 building control approval from the Building Safety Regulator. This is a mandatory requirement under the UK Building Safety Act 2022 and needs to be awarded before construction or alteration works can be carried out on the building.

“Our application was submitted in February 2026.

“Technical surveys and robust due diligence were undertaken prior to purchase of the building, and we are not anticipating any issues. The planned alteration works are not to make the building compliant; they are to bring the building into accordance with the planning consent granted for change of use and the management model for new emergency temporary accommodation.

“The alteration works will be funded by the Housing Network which will be managing the Yoho Building once occupied.

“Upon completion of the planned alterations, a Gateway 3 application will then need to be made to Building Safety Regulator. This will determine the opening date of the Yoho building.”

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