At least 309,000 people homeless in England today
Posted 14 Dec 2023
Homelessness rises by 14% in a year as housing emergency escalates
New research from Shelter shows at least 309,000 people in England will spend Christmas without a home, including almost 140,000 children. This is a stark increase of 14%, 38,100 people, in one year.
Shelter’s comprehensive analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to Freedom of Information requests reveals 1 in 182 people in England are homeless today. The charity’s research shows homelessness has risen rapidly in just 12 months: over 3,000 people are sleeping rough on any given night (26% increase) and 279,400 are living in temporary accommodation (14% increase) - most of whom are families. There are also 20,000 people in hostels or supported accommodation.
The government’s own figures reveal that almost half (47%) of families who are homeless in temporary accommodation have been there for more than two years. Councils have a legal duty to house families and people who are vulnerable, but the acute shortage of affordable homes means they are having to rely on temporary accommodation for long periods. The growing emergency is leaving families stuck for months in grotty hostels, B&Bs and cramped bedsits, often having to share beds with no, or inadequate, cooking and laundry facilities. People not entitled to accommodation may end up on the streets, sofa-surfing or in dangerous living conditions.
Shelter’s frontline services are dealing with the grim reality of rising homelessness every day from supporting families crammed into a one-room B&B with mouldy walls and bed bugs, to providing emergency assistance to people faced with a night on the streets. The charity has launched an urgent appeal calling on the public to help it be there for people experiencing homelessness this winter.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Homelessness is on nobody’s Christmas list, but 309,000 people will spend this time of year in a tiny hostel room or freezing in a doorway.
“The housing emergency is out of control. Chronic underinvestment in social homes has left people unable to afford skyrocketing private rents and plunged record numbers into homelessness. It is appalling that the government has allowed thousands of families to be packed into damp and dirty B&B’s and hostel rooms, which are traumatising children and making people desperately ill.
“Until the government takes this emergency seriously, our frontline services will do everything they can to help people keep or find a safe home this winter. It is only with the public’s support that we can continue to provide vital advice and support and fight for the solutions people want and need to end homelessness. To donate to Shelter’s Urgent Appeal, visit shelter.org.uk/donate.”
Emma, 44, and her two sons aged seven and seventeen live in Clitheroe, near Blackburn, and were made homeless in early November following a Section 21 no-fault eviction. Emma searched for other rentals but there was nowhere they could afford. The family were placed in temporary accommodation by their council in a tiny flat where they all have to share a bedroom. Emma’s oldest son is autistic and struggled living in such a confined space, so he was forced to leave and go stay with his dad, splitting up the family.
Emma said: “Becoming homeless and being placed in this flat, through no fault of my own, has split up my family and has made my mental health much worse. My oldest son struggles with his autism and has always had me as his support as I’m his main carer, so it’s been difficult to not have him living with us.
“The hardest thing to deal with is the isolation and the shame of walking into this building. It feels like a prison cell. You can’t even make the place homely because this is meant to be a temporary solution, but we could be here for a week or for months. We’re basically in limbo here. Recently the shower wasn't working for ten days and we had to use the cold water in the bathroom sink to wash or the communal bathroom downstairs, sharing with strangers. This is so upsetting. I feel I have let my children down even though this is not my fault.”
Shelter’s research also looks at places across England where homelessness is most acute:
London comes out worst, with 1 in 51 people homeless in the capital. Newham has the highest rate with 1 in 20 people homeless. The total number of people homeless in the city has risen 11%, from 150,000 people to 167,000 people.
Outside of London, Luton is the local authority with the highest rates of homelessness with 1 in 64 people homeless, followed by Birmingham and Manchester where 1 in 71 are homeless and Hastings where 1 in 79 are homeless.
The East Midlands has the biggest annual increase of 33%, from 5,900 people to almost 7,900 people.
While Shelter’s analysis is the most comprehensive overview of recorded homelessness in England, the true figure is likely to be higher as some types of homelessness, like sofa-surging, go entirely undocumented. To donate to Shelter’s Urgent Winter Appeal and give people experiencing homelessness the support and security they need this Christmas, visit shelter.org.uk/donate.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Table 1: Estimated number of people who are homeless as at a given night in 2023, by type of homelessness, England
| [1] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by the council | [2] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by them or homeless at home | [3] No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night | [4] Est. no single homeless people living in hostels | [5] Est. no. people living in accommodation provided by social services | [6] Est no. of homeless children (incl. in total in [7]) | [7] Est. total no. homeless people | [8] Rate of homelessness (1 in X people) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England total | |||||||||
| 279,390 | 5,416 | 3,069 | 20,071 | 1,604 | 139,916 | 309,550 | 1 in 182 | ||
| See notes to editors for sources and methods |
We estimate that on a given night in 2023 there will have been over 309,000 people who were homeless, which is a rate of 1 in 182 people
This population is mainly made up of people who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation (90%).
Table 2: Estimated number of people who are homeless as at a given night in 2023, by type of homelessness, by region of England
| [1] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by the council as of 30th June 2023 | [2] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by them or homeless at home as of 30th June 2023 | [3] No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night | [6] No. of homeless children in TA (incl. in total in [7]) | [7] Est. total no. homeless people | [8] Rate of homelessness (1 in X people) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regions of England | ||||||
| North East | 1,410 | 36 | 61 | 490 | 1,507 | 1,757 |
| North West | 18,030 | 535 | 247 | 8,910 | 18,812 | 394 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 5,660 | 395 | 170 | 2,520 | 6,225 | 880 |
| East Midlands | 7,310 | 367 | 213 | 3,580 | 7,890 | 619 |
| West Midlands | 22,450 | 1,303 | 250 | 12,590 | 24,003 | 248 |
| East of England | 19,190 | 461 | 285 | 9,580 | 19,936 | 318 |
| London | 165,220 | 1,391 | 858 | 82,360 | 167,469 | 53 |
| South East | 28,610 | 358 | 572 | 13,550 | 29,540 | 314 |
| South West | 11,540 | 554 | 413 | 5,340 | 12,507 | 456 |
Notes: In this regional table [7] is simply the sum of rough sleepers and those in council temporary accommodation, or who are homeless at home or living in TA arranged by themselves. Regional totals will not always sum to the national totals due to imputations. See ‘Notes and references for tables’ for details of sources and methods
Table 3: Top 10 highest local rates of people who are homeless (living in temporary accommodation or sleeping on the streets), London
| Nat. rank | Local authority | Reg. | [1] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by the council | [2] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by them or homeless at home | [3] No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night | [6] No. of homeless children in TA (incl. in total in [7]) | [7] Est. total no. homeless people | [8] Rate of homelessness (1 in X people) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newham | Lon | 17,170 | 0 | 64 | 8,596 | 17,234 | 20 | ||
| 2 | Westminster | Lon | 7,720 | 84 | 333 | 3,608 | 8,137 | 25 | ||
| 3 | Hackney | Lon | 7,814 | 95 | 14 | 3,924 | 7,923 | 33 | ||
| 4 | Haringey | Lon | 7,915 | 6 | 33 | 4,160 | 7,954 | 33 | ||
| 5 | Redbridge | Lon | 8,802 | 3 | 16 | 4,401 | 8,821 | 35 | ||
| 6 | Enfield | Lon | 9,014 | 0 | 24 | 4,531 | 9,038 | 37 | ||
| 7 | Lewisham | Lon | 7,380 | 3 | 16 | 3,867 | 7,399 | 41 | ||
| 8 | Tower Hamlets | Lon | 7,559 | 0 | 17 | 3,851 | 7,576 | 41 | ||
| 9 | Southwark | Lon | 7,162 | 0 | 44 | 3,021 | 7,206 | 43 | ||
| 10 | Wandsworth | Lon | 7,542 | 0 | 28 | 3,398 | 7,570 | 43 |
Table 4: Top 10 highest local rates of people who are homeless (living in temporary accommodation or sleeping on the streets), excluding London
| Rank (outside London) | Local authority | Reg. | [1] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by the council | [2] Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by them or homeless at home | [3] No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night | [6] No. of homeless children in TA (incl. in total in [7]) | [7] Est. total no. homeless people | [8] Rate of homelessness (1 in X people) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luton | East of England | 3,422 | 30 | 43 | 1,897 | 3,495 | 64 | ||
| 2 | Birmingham | West Midlands | 16,142 | 0 | 52 | 9,405 | 16,194 | 71 | ||
| 3 | Manchester | North West | 7,682 | 0 | 91 | 3,926 | 7,773 | 71 | ||
| 4 | Hastings | South East | 1,135 | 0 | 21 | 508 | 1,156 | 79 | ||
| 5 | Brighton and Hove | South East | 3,063 | 4 | 88 | 1,219 | 3,155 | 88 | ||
| 6 | Basildon | East of England | 1,667 | 113 | 5 | 854 | 1,785 | 105 | ||
| 7 | Crawley | South East | 1,031 | 0 | 33 | 516 | 1,064 | 111 | ||
| 8 | Eastbourne | South East | 879 | 0 | 16 | 401 | 895 | 114 | ||
| 9 | Epsom and Ewell | South East | 620 | 0 | 5 | 323 | 625 | 129 | ||
| 10 | Dartford | South East | 880 | 0 | 13 | 448 | 893 | 131 | ||
Homelessness comes in many varied forms and is extremely difficult to accurately measure. This research estimates a snapshot of the number of people who are recorded as homeless on a given night in 2023. This figure is 14% higher than when calculated in 2022 when it was 271,421.
279,390 is an estimate of the number of people (adults plus children) who live in households which have been found to be homeless and are living in local authority arranged temporary accommodation under homelessness legislation. It is calculated using the detailed household type information in table TA2 of the Temporary Accommodation tables, from DLUHC’s official statutory homelessness statistics. ‘Other’ household types are assumed to contain an average of two people. Q2 2023 data is used wherever possible, if it is not available, the most recent available quarter in 2022/23 is used. If no data was published in the whole year, the area is excluded. Local authorities who did not publish data in the last 12 months were: Dudley, Isles of Scilly, Cannock Chase, Halton, Hounslow and Lambeth. DLUHC, Statutory homelessness live tables, Detailed local authority level tables, Table TA1 and TA2. This figure is 14% higher than in 2022 (245,590)
5,416 is an estimate of the number of people (adults plus children) who live in households who have been found to be homeless and are living in temporary accommodation arranged by themselves or ‘homeless at home’, meaning that they are legally homeless because it is not reasonable for them to continue to occupy their home but they have not yet been accommodated by the local authority. The number of people in these households is assumed to match the average seen in the households above and the same conventions on dates are followed as above. DLUHC, Statutory homelessness live tables, Detailed local authority level tables, Table TA1
3,069 is taken from the annual count of rough sleepers on a single night, as at Autumn 2022 (most recent available). These figures are widely considered to be an underestimate of the true scale of street homelessness. DLUHC, Rough Sleeping Snapshot: autumn 2022, Table 1
20,071 is the estimated number of people living in a hostel or supported accommodation on any given night is calculated using hostel bed space data from the annual Homeless Link report. Homeless Link, Annual Review of Single Homeless People in England, August 2023. We remove 7% to account for voids and adjust against the published TA figures. Full details of this methodology are published in the accompanying Shelter report.
1,604 is the number of people (adults and children) living in temporary accommodation arranged by Social Services under section 17 of the Children’s Act. This is estimated using an FOI sent to all county and unitary authorities in England, asking for this data as of 30th June 2023 or the nearest available date. We received full or partial figures from 40 areas. Many councils do not hold or are unable to access this data easily, meaning that this figure is an underestimate.
Of this figure, 139,916 is the estimated total number of children who are homeless. At the national level it sums up the number of children living in temporary accommodation arranged by the local authority under homelessness legislation and the number of children living in temporary accommodation arranged by Social Services under Section 17 of the Children’s Act.
33% increase in the region of the East Midlands was calculated using the 2022 figure of 5,933 people to the 2023 figure of 7,890 people.
11% increase in rates of homelessness in London was calculated by comparing the 2023 total number of people – 167,469 – to the 2022 total of 150,742.
Length of time in TA
The length of time families with children spend in temporary accommodation is calculated using data from March 2023. This is available at DLUHC, Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2022-23 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
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.