New data released yesterday (22nd July 2025) by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) which covers January to March 2025 has shown that a record number of households are stuck in temporary accommodation in England.
According to the data, 131, 140 households were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2025, which is an increase of 11% from 31 March 2024.
The new statistics also show that:
- 47,990 single households were living in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2025 – a rise of 12% from the end of March 2024
- 83,450 households were supported by their local council to prevent or relieve their homelessness between January to March 2025
- Of those households offered support:
– 37,610 households were deemed at risk of homelessness and therefore owed a prevention duty – down 4% from the same quarter last year
– 45,840 households were deemed already homeless and therefore owed a relief duty – down 7% from the same quarter last year
Further data revealed that:
- In January to March 2025, ‘end of private rented Assured Shorthold Tenancy’ was the most common reason for households being owed a prevention duty. These households made up 36% of those owed a prevention duty in the quarter
- The most common support need was for those with history of mental health problems, accounting for 23,600 or 28% of households offered support for homelessness. This was up 2% since the same quarter last year.
Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, Emma Haddad, said: “With record numbers of people trapped in temporary accommodation, these latest figures highlight just how far we still have to go in tackling homelessness.
Rising rents combined with a fragile jobs market are driving an increasing number of people towards homelessness for the first time. Meanwhile, a lack of affordable and social housing means more people are struggling to move on from stop-gap housing solutions and end their homelessness for good.
If these issues aren’t addressed, it only leads to more people finding themselves at the sharpest end of this crisis. St Mungo’s outreach teams are supporting increased numbers of people sleeping rough, with not enough options to help them away from the streets .
The Government’s recent funding commitment for homelessness and social housing is the right step towards fixing this crisis, but real change depends on preventing homelessness. The publication of the now overdue homelessness strategy should provide a coherent roadmap towards prevention and away from crisis response.”
