New data released this week (31 July 2026) by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) shows that 3,959 people were sleeping rough in London in April to June this year, a 10% decrease from the same period last year, and a small increase (0.38%) from the previous quarter.
The data also shows that during the period:
- Outreach teams in the capital recorded 1,685 people sleeping rough for the first time, a 16% decrease from the same period last year.
- There were 680 people assessed as living on the streets, a 6% increase from the preceding period.
- The proportion of people seen rough sleeping with a mental health need increased slightly, with 59% recorded as having a mental health support need, compared to 55% in the previous quarter (January-March 2026).
- There has been a 12% rise in the number of people identified as having multiple support needs such as mental health, alcohol use and substance use, rising to 41.1%.
Emma Haddad, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s said:
“It’s been less than a fortnight since Andy Burnham stood outside Number 10 and used his very first speech as Prime Minister to make an ambitious pledge to end rough sleeping. This was a huge and welcome moment.
Today’s figures show rough sleeping in the capital remains high, with almost 4,000 people forced to sleep on the streets in the extreme heat over the past quarter. That this is a slight decrease on the same time last year is welcome news, and this needs to become a trend. But the 12% rise in the number of people with multiple support needs is incredibly worrying.
Our frontline teams are on the streets every single day and night of the year. We do everything possible to provide tailored support to people sleeping rough and get them into safe emergency accommodation as quickly as possible. More often than not, we see homelessness go hand in hand with multiple and complex needs such as poor mental health, substance use, domestic abuse and trauma. We know that 41% of people who are rough sleeping in London are currently living with these complex needs which need urgent and tailored support.
Ending rough sleeping once and for all requires three things: emergency response to get people off the streets and into safety, with access to accommodation and support based on needs rather than eligibility; measures to prevent homelessness before it occurs, identifying people at risk of homelessness and ceasing all homelessness from public institutions; and an overhaul of the systemic issues that cause homelessness, from raising local housing allowance to make rents affordable, to investing in support for people with complexity of needs, and increasing the supply of social housing.
Today’s figures also show that 680 people in London were recorded as living on the streets, a 6% increase from the first quarter of this year. This is a moral tragedy and indicative of why there is no one-size-fits all approach or system to support people in their recovery from homelessness. Without the right services in place, we leave people at risk of enduring rough sleeping.
We have seen what happens when the right services across housing, health, welfare and the voluntary sector work together to identify people at risk of rough sleeping and provide tailored support before they reach the streets.
The Prime Minister must continue to champion and own his pledge to end rough sleeping. Through sustained political support, ending rough sleeping, both in London and beyond, is within reach.”
