Homelessness higher than official figures, research shows

by | Nov 9, 2025 | Politics

The number of homeless people in England is higher than official government data suggests, according to new research from the charity Crisis.They say that around 189,000 families and individuals who faced the worst forms of homelessness such as rough sleeping, sofa surfing and living in tents were not included in official statistics.Official data is based on people declaring themselves as homeless to a local authority, which Crisis says often does not happen.The government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services in 2025/26, a £316m increase on the previous year.The charity says the number of people facing the worst forms of homelessness has grown by a fifth since 2022 and now stands at around 300,000.They say that one of the drivers behind the figures is a large increase in the number of people housed in unsuitable temporary accommodation.When someone declares as homeless to the local authority, they can be placed in temporary accommodation while they search for a permanent home.The research from Crisis, which was produced by Herriot-Watt University, says the number of households placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation has jumped from 19,200 in 2020 to 46,700 in 2024.Unsuitable temporary accommodation can include unsafe B&Bs and properties far away from family and friends.They say an additional 18,600 families are living in “unconventional accommodation” such as cars, sheds and tents.Crisis says that many of the people included in their research do not meet the threshold set by government and councils to b …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe number of homeless people in England is higher than official government data suggests, according to new research from the charity Crisis.They say that around 189,000 families and individuals who faced the worst forms of homelessness such as rough sleeping, sofa surfing and living in tents were not included in official statistics.Official data is based on people declaring themselves as homeless to a local authority, which Crisis says often does not happen.The government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services in 2025/26, a £316m increase on the previous year.The charity says the number of people facing the worst forms of homelessness has grown by a fifth since 2022 and now stands at around 300,000.They say that one of the drivers behind the figures is a large increase in the number of people housed in unsuitable temporary accommodation.When someone declares as homeless to the local authority, they can be placed in temporary accommodation while they search for a permanent home.The research from Crisis, which was produced by Herriot-Watt University, says the number of households placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation has jumped from 19,200 in 2020 to 46,700 in 2024.Unsuitable temporary accommodation can include unsafe B&Bs and properties far away from family and friends.They say an additional 18,600 families are living in “unconventional accommodation” such as cars, sheds and tents.Crisis says that many of the people included in their research do not meet the threshold set by government and councils to b …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]