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‘We have relied on sticking-plaster solutions’
A total of 92,200 households approached councils for help between January and March this year with 83,850 households owed support to prevent or relieve homelessness, down more than 2% on the same period in 2025.
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There was a 1.8% increase in the number of households assessed as being threatened with homelessness and needing support to prevent it, affecting 39,200 households.
But the number of households requiring homelessness relief was down 5% to 44,650 households. Almost 11,000 of those households included children, falling 8.7%.
Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, said Burnham must deliver on his pledge to ramp up social and council housebuilding and raise local housing allowance rates to allow low-income households to afford private rents to drive down homelessness in the long-term.
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“For far too long we have relied heavily on costly sticking plaster solutions, with councils spending billions of pounds each year on temporary accommodation that only traps people in a cycle of insecurity. With sky-high rental costs and a chronic shortage of affordable homes, people across the country are being pushed to breaking point,” said Downie.
“With the right action, we can finally see these figures fall and ensure everyone has access to the vital foundation that is a secure home.”
There was also a sharp slump in the number of families housed in bed and breakfast accommodation, continuing a trend from the last two years.
Labour’s homelessness strategy, published in December last year, vowed to crack down on the number of families being put up in B&Bs.
There were 1,900 families living in B&Bs as of March this year, down 0.5% compared to the previous quarter, while 1,000 families were in the accommodation for longer than the legal limit of six weeks, representing a fall of 16.7%.
Housing secretary Angela Rayner said: “For too many people, a safe home still feels out of reach. While it’s welcome that more households are being helped into a home and fewer families are living in bed and breakfast accommodation, these figures show there is still a long way to go, with record numbers stuck in temporary accommodation.
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“We’re getting on with the job of fixing a system that has been failing people for too long. We’ve already announced £340 million to provide secure homes and support for people facing the most severe forms of homelessness.
“This is the first step in a wider five-year programme to help thousands of people rebuild their lives and get the security and opportunity that comes with having a place to call home.”
The statistics show it is children who are increasingly bearing the brunt of the country’s homelessness crisis – almost two-thirds of households – 63% – living in temporary accommodation contain children.
Alexia Murphy, CEO of youth homelessness charity, Depaul UK said: “No child should have their potential restricted by housing insecurity, yet those who experience the trauma of unstable housing are far more likely to face homelessness as adults.
“Yet these figures are a stark reminder that we cannot simply respond to homelessness once it has happened; prevention must be the priority.”
The January to March statistics covered the final quarter before Labour’s Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May.
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The figures show that the loss of a private rented home remained the most common reason why households needed support from councils to prevent homelessness.
In total, 14,120 households were owed a prevention duty after leaving private rented accommodation – more than a third of cases.
The Renters’ Rights Act banned section 21 evictions – known as no-fault evictions as they allowed landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason.
The move sparked warnings from landlords that an exodus from the market would see more private rented tenants forced into homelessness.
Around 6,500 households were owed prevention support due to service of a section 21 notice, down 3.5% compared to the same point last year
Manchesterism at a national scale
Fiona Colley, director of policy and communications at Homeless Link, said it was “heartening” to see homelessness fall in some parts of the system but called for more funding towards prevention
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Colley added: “With the prime minister’s stated support for the idea of a ‘national housing first philosophy’, we hope his government will have the political will to make the bold choices needed to end homelessness for good.”.
Lee Buss-Blair, director of operations at Riverside, also called for more funding.
“With councils spending over £10bn on temporary acccomodation over the past five years and support needs of people affected by homelessness growing, it is deeply worrying that half of supported housing providers have said they will have to close or decommission services due to funding cuts,” said Buss-Blair.
“It is crucial that the prime minister and chancellor agree a new settlement for homelessness services and supported housing as part of the Treasury’s review to help bring hope to thousands of people and their families who are affected by homelessness.”
In his victory speech after being named prime minister, Burnham said that if the country is “paying for temporary accommodation for thousands of families, how then will we find the money to invest in prevention and improve people’s lives? The truth is we can’t”.
Marley Morris, the associate director of think tank IPPR, said that Burnham should “apply his housing-led approach in Manchester at the national scale, focusing on moving people into permanent homes as quickly as possible while putting extra support in place if needed”.
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The three regions that have seen the biggest increase in homelessness in the last year include the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, both up 8%, while the South East has seen a 5% rise, according to Shelter’s analysis.
So far, Burnham has given little detail on how he intends to boost housebuilding.
That detail must come at the autumn budget, Shelter CEO Sarah Elliott said.
“October’s budget is the new prime minister’s chance to turn the tide on years of spiralling homelessness and kickstart the council house revolution he promised,” said Elliott.
“He can use the budget to remove the financial barriers currently holding councils back from building the volume of social rent homes we need to end homelessness.”
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