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Another record number of children homeless in temporary accommodation after 12% increase in a year

Posted 22 Jul 2025

New government statutory homelessness figures, released today, reveal 169,050 children are now homeless in temporary accommodation in England – a 12% increase in a year and the ninth consecutive record since December 2022.  

The new data for January to March 2025 paints another devastating portrait of the housing emergency across the country: 

  • The number of households living in emergency accommodation like B&Bs and hostels is now 22,700. This has doubled in the last decade, from 10,310 in 2015. B&Bs and hostels are often the most damaging for children because they have shared facilities, like bathrooms, and families are usually cramped in one room. 

  • Overall, there are now 131,140 households homeless in temporary accommodation, up 12% in a year. 

  • A third of households (32%), 41,560, are accommodated in temporary accommodation outside of their home area – up 14% in one year.  

  • Nearly half (46%) of London households homeless in temporary accommodation are stuck in out of area accommodation. In Manchester, this figure is over a third (39%).  

Shelter warns that unless the government urgently ramps up delivery of social rent homes through the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme, homelessness will continue to rise. In the short term, the government must use the Autumn Budget to unfreeze local housing allowance to help families out of temporary accommodation, and to prevent more families becoming homeless. 

Mairi MacRae, Director of Campaigns and Policy at Shelter, said: “While their classmates are excited for the holidays ahead, over 169,000 children face a long summer stuck in damaging and insecure temporary accommodation. This is the devastating result of a severe shortage of social rent homes and inadequate levels of housing benefit that continue to trap families in homelessness. 

“Every day we hear from families who are stuck in grim B&Bs and hostels where they are crammed into single rooms and forced to live out of suitcases. Children’s toys are stacked against damp and mouldy walls and there’s no space to invite friends over to play. Many are forced to uproot their lives, sometimes overnight, when they are moved into temporary accommodation miles away from their families, jobs, and communities. 

“As an immediate relief for struggling families, the government must unfreeze local housing allowance in the Autumn Budget, so it covers at least the bottom third of local rents. But there’s only one way to ensure everyone has access to a safe and secure home in the long run, and that’s social rent homes. The government must now get on and deliver the new social rent homes it's committed to and ramp up to 90,000 a year for ten years.” 

Anyone who is facing homelessness can get free and expert advice from Shelter by visiting www.shelter.org.uk/get_help. 

ENDS 

Notes to editors:

  • Statutory homelessness statistics relate to the quarter January – March 2025. They collate information on statutory homelessness applications, duties, and outcomes for local authorities in England, as well as households in temporary accommodation (TA). Unlike other data in this dataset, the TA figures are a snapshot at the end of the quarter, not a cumulative total of all placements across a quarter. The figures are available at: MHCLG, Live tables on homelessness, Statutory Homelessness Live Tables, Table TA1 

  • Statutory homelessness statistics relate to the quarter January – March 2025. They collate information on statutory homelessness applications, duties, and outcomes for local authorities in England, as well as households in temporary accommodation (TA). Unlike other data in this dataset, the TA figures are a snapshot at the end of the quarter, not a cumulative total of all placements across a quarter. The figures are available at: MHCLG, Live tables on homelessness, Statutory Homelessness Live Tables, Table TA1  

  • 131,140 households were recorded to be living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of March 2025. This figure has increased by 12% (13,790 households) since the end of March 2024 and is the highest number on record.  

  • 169,050 children were recorded to be living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of March 2025. The number of children in temporary accommodation has increased by 12% (17,510 children) since the end of March 2024 and is the highest number since records began (June 2004). The previous record was set in 2006 (130,470). This was broken at the end of March 2023 (131,500). It has continued to rise, and set new records, in each quarter since then.  

  • 41,560 households were recorded as being placed in TA in another local authority district at the end of March 2025. This is 32% of all England households in TA. This figure has increased by 14% (5,240 households) since the end of March 2024. Amongst London households in TA, 33,790 are housed out of area, 46% of all of those in TA. In Manchester, 1,069 households are housed out of area, 39% of all of those in TA. 

  • 22,700 households were recorded as living in B&Bs or hostels in England at the end of March 2025. This figure is produced by summing those accommodated in B&Bs with those accommodated in hostels. This figure has decreased by -6% (-1310 households) since the end of March 2024. 

  • 7,480 families were recorded as living in B&Bs or hostels in England at the end of March 2025. This figure has decreased by 16% (1,370 households) since the end of March 2024. 

  • The law states that households with dependent children or a pregnant woman must not be accommodated in B&B accommodation unless there is no other suitable accommodation available, and only for a maximum of six weeks. Further information available here:  https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/homelessness_applications/suitability_of_accommodation_for_homeless_applicants/suitability_of_bed_and_breakfast_accommodation 

About Shelter: Shelter exists to defend the right to a safe home and fight the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and society. Shelter believes that home is everything. Learn more at www.shelter.org.uk