Homeless households in Bexley are having to wait up to three years for a home as the time on the waiting list climbs year on year, new figures show.

An investigation into housing by the Local Democracy Service has found that residents are waiting longer and longer each year to be found accommodation in Bexley.

On average, the wait time for a two bed home has shot up from 108 weeks in 2016/17 to 152 in the last year – a little under three years.

If you are in need of a four bed home, the average waiting time is now over 300 weeks.

The same investigation revealed that one household has been on Greenwich Council’s waiting list for 47 years.

In Bexley, there are no such drastic cases however, 339 households (5 per cent of the housing register) have been on there for a decade or longer.

Just under half of the council’s list – 43 per cent – have been waiting for three years or more, the figures show.

On average, it takes a household 157 weeks to be found a home in the borough.

MORE Bexley Council developing housing strategy for 'good growth'

The council is currently working on a housing strategy to be paired with its ambitious growth plans which will see 31,500 homes built in the borough by 2050.

Responding to the figures, a spokesman for the council said: “It is important to note that Bexley’s housing ‘waiting list’ can include any resident in the borough who has expressed an interest in a social rented property.

“The fact they are on this list does not necessarily mean that they have a housing need that requires social housing.

“Bexley operates a choice based letting system with applicants placed in one of four bands based on their need. They then choose to bid on properties that become available.

“Those in band one are in the highest priority and will be rehoused in a shorter period. Those in band four do not have any priority need and so will be unlikely to be successful and so will remain on the register for many years.”

The spokesman said the authority was part of several schemes, such as Capital Letters, as it tries to combat housing problems and homelessness.

They said: “Our Bexley’s landlord incentive scheme ‘Rent it Right’ provides good standard and more stable private rented accommodation for local homeless households.

“The scheme enables us to work in partnership with private landlords to help meet growing housing needs by increasing the supply of affordable rented properties.

“It is a cost effective scheme as it avoids the alternative of using much more expensive temporary housing, which is also less settled accommodation. Tenants also have the reassurance that they are renting from a reliable landlord at an affordable rent, that we will regularly monitor.”

In nearby Greenwich, more than 2,000 people have been waiting a decade or more for a home.

The borough has a much higher waiting list and more families in temporary accommodation, but has borrowed millions to embark on “the biggest home building programme in a generation”.