Kensington & Chelsea Council is planning to send residents to live outside of the borough after agreeing to spend £10m on temporary accommodation.

It says it is forced to make the move because of a lack of available properties within the royal borough, but says they will be a commutable distance to the borough and that it will benefit those on its waiting list.

Properties in the private housing market will be considered up to the maximum value of £450,000. The council anticipates that it could buy up to 39 properties, consisting of 27 two-bed properties and 12 three-bed properties.

It says since 2010 the number of households in temporary accommodation has been on the rise and with fewer affordable properties available in the private rented sector, leading it to considering locations including London, the M25 area and southern counties.

Council leader Cllr Nick Paget-Brown said: “The reality is we are facing a great shortage of properties in which to house those in greatest need.

“The pool available to us in the private sector is falling, and with the number of homeless households on our list rising, we believe purchasing our own stock is the right strategy to not only increase supply but contain costs.

“In an ideal world we would like to buy properties in Kensington & Chelsea, but the numbers simply don’t stack up. In reality we could only buy a handful of homes here, but by looking further afield we can purchase significantly more, making a huge difference to those on our waiting list.”

The council plans to start purchasing properties that are a commutable distance from the borough in the autumn, with the first household moving in during March 2016.

The decision was made during a council cabinet meeting on July 16.