Lewisham Council spent more than £4.6 million on emergency accommodation in six months from September 2017 to February this year – spending more than £1.3 million in December.

Lewisham Council’s raw data on spending shows the total amount spent on bed and breakfast accommodation varied from £266,487.83 in September, to £1,332,940.88 in December.

But local housing activist John Hamilton said the figures were a result of the council’s lack of investment in housing – an issue which has been exacerbated by a diminishing number of affordable rental homes in the borough.

“This is one of the biggest problems about Lewisham’s finances,” he said.

The social cost for families living in temporary accommodation was high as they offered families little security, Mr Hamilton explained.

“It’s not only the money, it’s the hardship and the quality of life for these people,” he said.

“Often children have to move schools every six months.”

Housing was identified as a key focus to tackle poverty in a Lewisham Poverty Commission report.

“The major challenge for Lewisham, as for London and for most parts of the UK, is supply, with housebuilding in the capital only now picking up after decades at an all-time low… a dramatic increase in housebuilding is the only long-term solution to the capital’s housing crisis,” according to the council-commissioned report.

The number of affordable rental homes in Lewisham have nearly halved since 2010, more than doubling the number of homeless families in temporary accommodation in Lewisham.

An average of 241 families will bid for a three-bedroom home per week through Homesearch, the council’s online site for allocating social housing.

There are 4,000 households waiting for two-bed accommodation in the borough, 1,000 of which were homeless and in temporary accommodation.

Lewisham mayor Damien Egan has pledged to build 1000 new homes.

Lewisham Council have been contacted for comment.