Rough sleeping in London hits new record high – showing 'normalised emergency' on capital's streets

The number of rough sleepers spotted on London’s streets reached a record-high before Christmas, new official figures show.

The Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) statistics showed 4,841 people were recorded sleeping rough between October and December last year.

That’s a 5% increase on the same period in 2024 and 3% higher than the previous quarter when frontline homelessness workers spotted 4,711 people on the street.

The rising number of people sleeping rough has been driven by both new people sleeping rough in the English capital and going on to stay there over a longer period.

A total of 2,250 people were recorded as sleeping rough for the first time over the three-month period, up 6% year-on-year, with 73% spending just one night on the streets.

But 830 people have been deemed as living on the streets long-term, rising 9% since July and September last year and 18% higher than the same period in 2024.

The Labour government launched its own homelessness strategy in December, promising to halve rough sleeping nationally by 2029.

Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, said the number of people living on the streets is now a “normalised emergency”.

“The fact that rough sleeping in London is once again at record highs is simply shameful. This is now a normalised emergency – years of rising homelessness has desensitised us to the stark reality that thousands of people have nowhere safe to stay and have to sleep on the streets,” said Downie.

“Over the years, a failure to invest in support services and to build new social homes at anywhere close to the scale required has gotten us to this point.

“Although the Westminster government has pledged to halve the number of people sleeping rough long-term, with record numbers of people living on the streets it’s crucial that they address the reasons driving people there in the first place.”

Labour’s plan to reduce homelessness will set targets to prevent the number of people becoming homeless after leaving prisons, hospitals and other public institutions.

The latest Chain statistics showed a 7% rise in the number of ex-prisoners spotted on the streets through October to December last year, rising from 958 people in the same period in 2024 to 1,025 people.

The number of people with an armed forces history on the street also rose 16% year-on-year from 96 people to 112.

The statistics also showed a 40% increase in the number of new people sleeping rough who have left hostels or supported housing.

John Glenton, chief care and support officer at Riverside, said: “It is deeply concerning that more people could end up homeless or sleeping rough because of the financial crisis in the supported housing sector.”

There was also a 6% increase in the number of care leavers sleeping rough. Frontline workers spotted 268 people with care experience – 6% higher than the 268 counted in 2024.

Dr Lisa Doyle, head of policy and public affairs at Centrepoint said: “Care leavers are some of the most vulnerable people in London and it’s shocking they are continuing to slip through the net, rather than getting the support they need and are entitled to.”

However, the number of young people aged 25 and under sleeping on the capital’s streets has fallen by 4%, down to 396 people from 414 a year earlier.

But Daniel Dumoulin, director of development at Depaul UK, said the charity’s polling found sky-high rents and cost of living in London has nearly one in two young people (47%) worried about becoming homeless in the next year.

Dumoulin said: “We know that young people are among the most vulnerable caught in this crisis, and the scale of the problem facing young Londoners is deeply concerning.”

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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has pledged to end rough sleeping in London and told Big Issue last year that he didn’t expect to see falling numbers on the street until 2026.

Last May he laid out his plan of action to turn things around, including refurbishing up to 500 new empty homes, a new Ending Homelessness Hub and a dedicated rough sleeping prevention phone line.

But for Khan and the Labour government, the new year must bring progress to reduce the number of people living on the streets or without a stable home.

“2026 must be the year we turn the corner on shameful levels of rough sleeping,” said Fiona Colley, director of social change at Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services.

“London’s ambitious rough sleeping plan of action is now up and running, and the recently launched national plan to end homelessness commits the Westminster government to halving long-term rough sleeping by the end of the parliament.

“We now need a concerted effort at a national and local level to deliver both immediate and long-term solutions to totally unacceptable levels of homelessness. It’s time to move from strategy to delivery.”

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