Crisis has teamed up with Herriott-Watt University, publishing their 2025 edition of their yearly homelessness monitor. The publication this year comes during a unique time for the charity, who has recently announced the move to providing their own housing, given the difficulties they’re facing in providing shelter.
The report reinforces what many in the sector are all too aware of: We are currently in one of the worst homelessness crises in recent memory. Despite political promises, homelessness is rising across almost every measure, from rough sleeping and temporary accommodation to the hidden homelessness of sofa surfers and families displaced by unaffordable rents. Coupled with Crisis’ recent commitment to take matters into their own hands, the report and it’s context paints a harrowing picture of the true extent of the housing crisis.
Harrowing figures
On any given night, around 300,000 households in England are experiencing homelessness. That includes people trapped in unsuitable temporary accommodation, those staying with friends and family, and thousands sleeping rough on the streets. The Monitor’s figures show rough sleeping up by 20% in 2024, with 4,667 people counted in official estimates — almost double the 2020 low achieved during the pandemic’s emergency protections.
In London, where housing pressures are most acute, more than half of those sleeping rough are non-UK nationals. Researchers attribute this partly to the post-2020 surge in asylum applications and to efforts to clear the Home Office backlog, which have left thousands of newly recognised refugees without accommodation. The Government’s decision to halve the notice period for evictions from asylum accommodation is now predicted to push even more people into rough sleeping.
Meanwhile, 330,000 households were assessed by local authorities as homeless or at risk of homelessness last year, up 21% over three years. The number already homeless rose by 6% in 2024 alone. In London, those increases were steeper still, and behind those numbers lies another: the 70% of councils who told Crisis they’ve seen homelessness demand rise in the past year.
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Temporary Accommodation continues to spiral
The scale of temporary accommodation use has become one of the starkest indicators of a system under strain. As of late 2024, 128,000 households were living in temporary accommodation, more than double the number a decade ago. Over half of those placements are made by London boroughs, where the rate is seven times higher than the rest of England.
Among the most troubling figures are the 8,000 families with children living in Bed & Breakfast hotels at the end of 2024, despite these being widely considered unsuitable for children’s needs. The human consequences are visible in reports from the Shared Health Foundation, which found 74 children had died between 2019 and 2024 with temporary accommodation listed as a contributing factor to their vulnerability or ill health.
Financially, the situation is unsustainable. Councils spent £2.8 billion on temporary accommodation in 2024/25, with more than 60% describing the subsidy losses involved as “very challenging” for their overall finances. Some warned these costs risk pushing them toward bankruptcy, diverting attention and resources away from prevention, where interventions are most effective.
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The Homelessness Reduction Act under pressure
The Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) was heralded as a turning point when introduced in 2017 — a shift toward prevention and partnership. Yet eight years on, the Monitor suggests the HRA is not living up to its potential.
Local authorities report struggling to meet their statutory duties, especially for people with complex needs. Four in five councils say they can’t consistently meet their main rehousing duty for this group, citing a shortage of suitable accommodation and gaps in mental health, substance use and social care services. Even for families, over 40% of councils report struggling to meet prevention and rehousing duties most of the time.
The “duty to refer” (designed to encourage cooperation between public bodies) is viewed as largely ineffective, with only 4% of councils finding it “very effective” in helping them prevent homelessness. And in many areas, housing advice has shifted online or by phone, reducing opportunities for early intervention.
The shortage of support services compounds the problem. Nearly half of councils said many people needing floating housing-related support simply don’t have access to it. In the Midlands, only one local authority reported universal provision.
The widening gap between housing and welfare
The Monitor places much of the blame for the rise in homelessness on structural economic and policy failures. The combination of weak income growth, high rents and a threadbare welfare safety net continues to drive people to crisis point.
The freezing of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in 2025/26, coupled with the Benefit Cap, Two-Child Limit, and Shared Accommodation Rate restrictions for under-35s, are identified as key barriers to rehousing. Councils described these welfare policies as “incredibly unhelpful”, leaving households unable to afford even the cheapest local rents.
While the new Government’s decision to lift overall homelessness spending to £1 billion and increase the Homelessness Prevention Grant has been broadly welcomed, local authorities say these changes do little to address the systemic problems. Restoring LHA to cover at least the bottom 30% of local rents, expanding Housing First programmes, and increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes would, according to the Monitor’s modelling, lead to a 31% fall in core homelessness by 2031 and 36% by 2041.
The full report is available to read here: Thinkhouse library of UK housing reports
