Mr. Culhane said the right to shelter had merits back in the 1980s when advocates fought desperately to rescue people from street homelessness, but now it's parking thousands of families and children in shelter at an enormous cost when, he said, resources could be better spent on housing, support services, and homelessness prevention measures.

WSJ: Homeless Blame Game

"Housing first" was comparatively cheap, for one thing: a homeless shelter might look squalid, but it cost a great deal to operate -- more, oftentimes, than a proper apartment with kitchen and bath.

CNN: Fewer homeless, a Bush legacy

Mr Cumpsty, a Conservative, described the shelter as looking "unloved" and said it would cost "a few hundred pounds to restore", compared to the thousands of pounds it would take to replace.

BBC: Campaign to save 1930s Reading bus shelter

Torrential rains and severe flooding on several major rivers, notably the Limpopo, in January and February, cost 113 lives and displaced about 140, 000 people who took shelter in temporary accommodation centres set up by the government.

BBC: Mozambique: From Marxism to market

There's a tax cost, though: If title is transferred, the leasing firm no longer has depreciation with which to shelter income from tax.

FORBES: Guilt by Association

Going into 1986, there were tax shelter abuses, mostly from the use of non-recourse debt, and investors writing off much more than their cost basis.

FORBES: Bring Back Housing By Bringing Back Tax Shelters