Two sets of figures released today (Thursday 30th April) reveal the state of homelessness across England.  

Firstly, figures released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government covering October to December 2025 show: 

• There were 176,130 children living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of last year – the twelfth consecutive record high and up 6% on the same time in 2024. 

• Overall, there were 134,210 households living in temporary accommodation between October and December 2025. 

• On average, over 800 households a day were found to be facing homelessness between October and December 2025. 

• Of the households whose cases were closed during this time, only 48% secured accommodation. Of these households who secured accommodation, just over half (54%) went into social housing and in London, just 34% of households who secured accommodation did so via social housing.  

• The number of households who were found to be at risk of homelessness after being served section 21’no fault’ evictions was 4,960, a decrease of 16% on the previous quarter. Landlords will no longer be able to serve no fault evictions from tomorrow under the Renters’ Rights Act.   

In addition, statistics from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), considered to be the most accurate dataset for people sleeping rough in London, show: 

•  Nearly 4,000 people (3,944) were recorded sleeping rough in London between January and March 2026. This is 11% lower than the year before. 

• 1,762 people were recorded sleeping rough for the first time in London between January and March of this year. This is 15% lower than last year. 

• Some boroughs reported increases in rough sleeping, including Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich and Hackney. Hackney saw the largest increase, with a 56% rise in the number of people rough sleeping compared to the same time last year.  

These figures come on the eve of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force in England. This landmark piece of legislation will abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions for private tenants and replace fixed-term tenancies with rolling ones. 

Responding to today’s figures, Crisis Chief Executive Matt Downie said: “Once again, official statistics have reinforced what we are seeing with our own eyes: more and more families with children stuck in temporary accommodation. This ought to be treated as a national emergency but sadly it has become normalised. 

“This week the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force, which will give private renters much-needed protection against homelessness by ending no-fault evictions. To build on this, the Westminster Government must take urgent action to make sure everyone can access a genuinely affordable home.  

“We are very pleased to see the fall in rough sleeping figures in London, and now need to build on this success by tackling pressures in temporary accommodation. The single biggest intervention the Westminster Government could do right now to prevent rising homelessness across the board is to unfreeze housing benefit. This will make private rent homes more affordable for people on lower incomes and offer hope for those deeply worried about keeping a roof over their heads.” 

Ends-  

Notes to Editor  

About statutory homelessness figures in England  

The quarterly statistics for statutory homelessness assessments and activities in England between 1 October to 31st December 2025 can be found here. These statistics also report on households in temporary accommodation under the statutory homelessness duty in England on 31st December 2025.  

About CHAIN 

Today, Thursday 30 April 2026, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) statistics have been published, showing levels of rough sleeping across London for the period January to March 2026. 

Conducted by outreach teams in regular contact with people on the streets, CHAIN is considered the most thorough approach to collecting data on people sleeping rough. 

In the CHAIN reports, people sleeping rough are grouped into three categories: 

New rough sleepers	Those who had not been contacted by outreach teams rough sleeping before the period
Living on the streets	Those who have had a high number of contacts over 3 weeks or more which suggests they are living on the streets
Intermittent rough sleepers	People who were seen rough sleeping before the period began at some point, and contacted in the period - but not regularly enough to be ‘living on the streets’.

Read and download the latest CHAIN figures here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports 

Guidance on the Renters’ Rights Act  

Crisis and the TDS Charitable Foundation have put together guidance for private renters in England on what the changes in the Renters’ Rights Act mean and how tenants can deal with issues such as evictions and arrears going forward. This includes advice on what tenants can do if they are facing homelessness.  

The guide can be accessed by clicking here.