More homeless families and single people were in temporary accommodation in March 2026 than at any time since records began in 1998
Homeless families and single people living in temporary accommodation arranged by their council, England, at the end of each quarter, 1998 to 2026. Households.
The count includes households housed under duties added by the Homelessness Reduction Act in April 2018.
Latest figures
| Series | Period | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Families and single people | End of March 2026 | 135,580 |
| Families with children | End of March 2026 | 86,460 |
Notes
- The figures count households: a family, a couple or a single person who needs a home. A family of four in one room counts once.
- Temporary accommodation is somewhere to stay that a council arranges for a homeless household while it looks for a settled home. It includes bed and breakfast hotels, hostels, short-term private lets and council or housing association homes. People sleeping rough are not included.
- Councils must house some homeless households straight away, mainly families with children and people who are vulnerable, so most households in temporary accommodation have children.
- Each figure is the number on the last day of the quarter. Families with children are counted from March 2002, and the children in them from June 2004.
- The Homelessness Reduction Act gave councils new duties from April 2018, and the count includes households housed while those duties are carried out.
- Totals include estimates for councils that did not send figures. The latest quarter is provisional and earlier quarters are sometimes revised.
Sources
More on housing
- England had 439 homes for every 1,000 people on 31 March 2025, and added 208,600 homes in 2024-25
- Homes per 1,000 people ranged from 422 in London to 465 in the North East on 31 March 2025
- Households in the UK had 2.36 people on average in 2025, compared with 2.42 in 1996
- Private rents in the UK rose 3.8% in the 12 months to August 2026, and the average rent was £1,400 a month