An "urgent review" into the city council's use of temporary accommodation has been called for after spending rose by £120,000 in just one year.
Green Party councillors, who serve as the primary opposition at City Hall, say the Labour-led authority is relying too heavily on "expensive, often substandard privately owned units" for those at risk of imminent homelessness.
The party claims millions are being wasted on "insecure" shelter as far away as Ipswich, often leaving people without access to the facilities they need to live and away from their work and family.
Figures unearthed by the Greens show the spending rose to £530,879 in 2023, an increase of almost 30pc.
Overall, the authority has racked up a bill of £2.3m across the last five years - expenditure described by the opposition as "a hefty bill for a poorly delivered service".
Councillor Alex Catt, deputy leader of the Green group at City Hall, said: "People facing homelessness deserve security and a decent place to live that will not require them to move away from work and family.
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"Yet the Labour councillors at Norwich City Council have allowed huge bills to rack up for far-flung and insecure accommodation.
"We need more council-owned temporary accommodation to improve standards for those in need and also deliver these services in a cost-effective way."
The Greens also claim that the average time spent in temporary housing in Norwich is six weeks - the maximum legal limit.
Group members have called on the authority to build more council-owned property and modular homes "that can be constructed quickly and at low-cost".
Labour's Beth Jones, deputy leader of Norwich City Council and portfolio holder for housing, said: "We help to prevent 90pc of people at risk of homelessness from becoming so.
"When prevention isn’t possible, then temporary accommodation becomes an option.
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"But because of our prevention work, the numbers needing this support are some of the lowest in the region, and so are our costs.
“To address the housing crisis that is putting pressure on so many people, we’re finding innovative ways to build multi-tenure housing with exciting projects on the way.
"But we recognise the challenge to provide good affordable housing is significant.
"If any councillor colleagues have specific ideas for proposals that could enable us to deliver more homes in Norwich, at a lower cost, my door is always open."
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