Record number of households stuck in temporary accommodation in England - Crisis responds

Today (25 July) new figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that the number of households stuck in temporary accommodation in England was at a record high between January and March this year.

104,510 households were found to be living in temporary accommodation – up 10 per cent from last year. This includes over 64,000 (64,940) households with children – a 10.3 per cent increase from the same period last year. In total, 131,370 dependent children were living in temporary accommodation. 

The total number of households approaching their local council for help to either prevent them from becoming homeless, or to help them out of homelessness, also increased by 5.7% to over 83,000 (83,240) households. Again, these figures hit a record high.¹

The figures also show:

• 37,890 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness, and therefore qualified for support from their local authority, which is down 0.7% from the same quarter last year. 
• 41,950 households were initially assessed as currently homeless, up 10.7% from the same quarter last year. This is the highest number of people recorded as currently homeless in a single quarter since data collection began in 2018.
• End of private rented Assured Shorthold Tenancy was the most common reason for households being at risk of homelessness, accounting for 14,530 or 38.3% of households.
• This is an increase of 2.5% from the same quarter last year.
• The most common reason households were at risk of homelessness at the end of a private tenancy were because their landlord wished to sell or re-let the property (9,180 households)
• The numbers of people who are in-work and experiencing homelessness has continued to increase. 19,500 households seeking assistance were headed by someone working, increasing by 8.9% from the final quarter of last year.

Matt Downie, Chief Executive at Crisis, said: “Once again, we see the crippling cost that years of no investment in housing benefit, and a shameful lack of social house building, is having by trapping families in temporary accommodation. Not only do people not have the stability and security of a home, but they’re often left to cope in just one room, with no facilities to cook meals or do washing.

“This is unacceptable. The Westminster Government may have declared victory yesterday on a pledge to build one million homes in this parliament, but these figures highlight how out of touch they are. Until the Westminster Government grasps the severity of this situation, we will not see change. Families experiencing homelessness will continue to be commonplace and more and more children will be forced to live in cramped, unsafe temporary accommodation. Households across the country desperately need more social homes as well as investment in housing benefit so that people can afford even the cheapest of rents.”

-Ends-

Notes to Editor

Statutory homelessness data can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-january-to-march-2023/statutory-homelessness-in-england-january-to-march-2023

References:

1. Whilst temporary accommodation figures have been collected since 1998, the introduction of the current homelessness system and corresponding data collection began in 2018, and so the time period being referred to here is 2018 – 2023.