The housing crisis generation: How many children are homeless in Britain

By: Liam Reynolds
Published: December 2018

The housing crisis generation: How many children are homeless in Britain

Homelessness legislation in all parts of Britain means that children should never have to sleep rough although there are extreme cases where this can happen for a short time. There are, however, a huge number of children living in households who have been accepted as being officially homeless and are living in temporary accommodation. Even though these children have a roof over their heads they are still officially classed as homeless because it is not a permanent home and they can be moved on at very short notice. In the worst cases children can be crammed into bed and breakfast hotels or hostels - totally inappropriate places for children to grow up. This report sets out some of the research evidence on the impact of living in this way on families and children.