Manchester flats to house homeless families

A block of flats in Wythenshawe is set to be turned into temporary accommodation for homeless families, adding 17 self-contained homes to Manchester’s publicly owned housing stock.

The property on Greenwood Road in Woodhouse Park has been acquired by Manchester City Council from registered housing provider Mosscare St Vincent’s. Refurbishment work is due to begin this summer and is expected to finish in December 2026.

The flats will be used by families from Wythenshawe and south Manchester who need temporary accommodation while they wait for a settled tenancy. The council says the project is intended to reduce placements outside the area, helping families stay closer to schools, relatives, healthcare, work and other support networks.

Seventeen self-contained flats in Woodhouse Park

Each flat at the Greenwood Road property will be refurbished with a new kitchen and bathroom. The scheme will also include two shared laundry rooms and rear gardens with raised bedding for residents’ use.

The accommodation is designed for families rather than single-room emergency placements. Self-contained flats can give parents and children more privacy and routine during a period that is often unstable, especially when a household has had to leave a previous home at short notice.

An accommodation team will be based on site to support residents. Their role will include helping families prepare for a move into permanent housing as quickly as possible, including support around tenancy readiness.

Why Wythenshawe families are being prioritised

Manchester City Council said Wythenshawe and south Manchester have had a particular shortage of suitable temporary accommodation. That shortage can mean families are placed away from the communities where they previously lived.

For families with children, distance can carry practical costs: longer school journeys, reduced childcare support, harder access to familiar services and the loss of informal help from relatives or neighbours. The Greenwood Road project is part of the council’s attempt to keep more households within reach of those networks while longer-term housing is arranged.

The move sits alongside wider pressure on housing services in Manchester, where demand for affordable homes and secure tenancies remains high. Recent legal changes affecting Manchester renters and eviction protections have also kept housing security high on the local agenda.

Part of a wider temporary accommodation programme

Greenwood Road is one of several recent schemes aimed at increasing Manchester’s supply of council-owned temporary accommodation, alongside wider Manchester social housing delivery efforts.

The council has also brought forward plans to create temporary accommodation for more than 50 homeless families at Mauldeth House in Chorlton, a derelict former office block, subject to planning permission. Another application would turn the former Alexandra Park housing office into accommodation for 20 people currently experiencing homelessness.

Deputy Leader Cllr Tracey Rawlins said the council had identified a need for more temporary accommodation, particularly council-owned accommodation.

“We’re doing a lot to support people so that they don’t become homeless in the first place,” she said. “But we’re also determined to increase our stock of quality temporary accommodation – especially in Wythenshawe and south Manchester where there has been a particular shortage – to prevent people who do end up experiencing homelessness from being uprooted from their social support networks.”

Summer start and December completion target

Work on the Greenwood Road flats is scheduled to start in summer 2026. The council’s current timetable is for the refurbishment to be completed by December 2026.

Once finished, the 17 flats will become part of the city’s temporary accommodation system for homeless families. The council says the aim is not only to provide a place to stay, but to support families into permanent settled homes.

“Imaginative use of existing properties, as in the case of the Greenwood Road flats, is part of the answer,” Cllr Rawlins said. “It’s also important that where people do find themselves in temporary accommodation, they are supported to find permanent settled homes and be tenancy-ready. We are providing this support.”

Source: Manchester City Council