Children in temporary accommodation hits another shameful record as rough sleeping soars
Posted 27 Feb 2025
Shelter calls for urgent investment in social housing as housing emergency deepens
The government has today released two separate sets of statistics painting a picture of the worsening housing emergency in England.
164,040 children are homeless in temporary accommodation – up 21,650 (15%) in a year, the seventh new record in two years.
126,040 households in England are homeless in temporary accommodation – up 16% in a year and another record high figure.
A total 24,360 households are living in B&Bs and hostels, which is the most damaging form of temporary accommodation for children – a rise of 17% in a year.
38,690 households have been uprooted to out of area temporary accommodation - a 24% rise in a year
Also released today, are the latest snapshot figures of the number of people sleeping rough in England in 2024. They show:
4,667 people were recorded sleeping rough on a given night, a 20% increase in a year.
The number of people sleeping rough in England has more than doubled since 2010 when the data started being collected – up 164%.
The rough sleeping figures are likely to be an underestimate, as people who sleep in less visible locations such as public transport can sometimes be missed.
The chronic shortage of genuinely affordable social rent homes means growing numbers of households are ending up homeless in temporary accommodation, and in some cases, ending up on the streets. Shelter is urging the government to use the Spending Review in June to invest in building a new generation of social rent homes that will tackle the housing emergency head on and end homelessness for good.
Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, said: “It is unacceptable that homelessness continues to rocket when the government has the power to end it entirely.
“Thousands of children are being robbed of stability in temporary accommodation, crammed into B&Bs and hostels without any space to sleep, play or do their homework. Whole families are being uprooted at a moment’s notice, forcing children to travel hours to school, leaving them exhausted and falling behind.
“Homelessness has a simple solution - a safe, secure social rent home gives everyone the chance to succeed, but there’s nowhere near enough. If the government is serious about tackling the housing emergency, we must see ambitious investment in social housing in June's Spending Review. Investing in 90,000 social rent homes a year for ten years would give families a fighting chance and end homelessness for good.”
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:
Rough sleeping snapshot
The total number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a given night in Autumn 2024 (4,667), 2023 (3,898) and 2010 (1,768) is taken from the MHCLG Tables on rough sleeping - GOV.UK Table 1: Total number of people sleeping rough, by local authority district and region England, autumn 2010-2024. They are snapshot figures from a single night between 1 October and 30 November each year. They provide a way of estimating the number of people sleeping rough across England and seeing change over time, but are likely an undercount.
Statutory homelessness in England
Statutory homelessness statistics relate to the quarter July – September 2024. 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.
126,040 households were recorded to be living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of the quarter July - September 2024. This figure has increased by 16% (17,120 households) since the end of September 2023 and is the highest number since records began (March 1998).
164,040 children were recorded to be living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of the quarter July - September 2024. The number of children in temporary accommodation has increased by 15% (21,650 children) since September 2023 and is the highest number since records began (June 2004).
24,360 households were recorded as living in B&Bs or hostels in England at the end of the quarter July - September 2024. This figure is produced by summing those accommodated in B&Bs with those accommodated in hostels. This figure has increased by 17% (3,520 households) since the end of September 2023.
38,690 households were recorded as being placed in TA in another local authority district at the end of the quarter July - September 2024. This figure has increased by 24% (7,580 households) since the end of September 2023.
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