New research from homelessness charity Crisis has revealed that almost 300,000 households across England are suffering the worst forms of homelessness.
A state of the nation report commissioned by Crisis showed that 299,100 households in England experienced acute homelessness in 2024, an increase of 21% since 2022 and 45% since 2012.
These figures include people being forced to sleep on the streets, in unsuitable temporary accommodation, and in tents and squats.
London and the north of England were the most affected by the growing homelessness crisis, but 70% of all England councils have seen an increase in the number of people requesting homelessness assistance in the past year.
Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said local councils were at ‘breaking point’, without sufficient affordable housing or welfare support to address these record levels of homelessness.
Last year, local authorities spent £2.7 on temporary accommodation, a figure which is both unsustainable and growing as the homelessness crisis in the country continues to get worse.
More than half of local authorities surveyed by Crisis said the loss of government subsidies for temporary accommodation had placed them in a very challenging financial position.
Many told the charity that temporary accommodation costs risked forcing them into bankruptcy.
“These shocking new findings require a rapid response from the UK Government,” Downie said.
“No one should be forced to live in unsafe conditions, whether it’s children in poor-quality B&Bs or people having to sleep on the streets, in tents or in squats.”
Government urged to restore housing benefit and build social homes
In its report, Crisis urged the government to restore the housing benefit in the Autumn budget, which it said would help address the lack of welfare support for homelessness in England.
Crisis also noted that there has been a substantial increase in the number of people made homeless after being evicted from UK asylum accommodation, as well as other institutions such as hospitals and prisons.
The charity said the government should stop people ending up with nowhere to live after leaving institutions.
Downie said the government must ensure it delivers the social and affordable homes it promised to help tackle the growing homelessness crisis in England.
“We strongly welcomed the UK Government’s commitment of £39 billion for social and affordable housing,” Downie said.
“However, with councils across the country being pushed into effective bankruptcy because of the rising bill for temporary accommodation, we need a bold new approach to tackling homelessness.”
“Ministers must deliver on their manifesto pledge to get the country back on track to ending homelessness, including a guarantee that social homes will be delivered as quickly as possible and at scale,” he said.
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