Homeless Link responds to the statutory homelessness statistics for Q4 2025/26
On 13 August, the government’s Statutory homelessness in England statistics for January to March 2026 were published. Key findings include:
- On 31 March 2026,135,580 households were in temporary accommodation, an increase of 1.1% on the previous quarter. This is a record high for households with and without children.
- Between January and March 2026, 83,850 households were assessed as owed a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness, a decrease of 2.1% on the same period in the previous year.
- Within this, 39,200 households were assessed as being threatened with homelessness and therefore owed a prevention duty, up 1.8% compared to last year.
- 44,650 households were initially assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty, down 5.3% compared to last year.
- The number of households successfully securing accommodation for six months or more after their prevention duty ends has increased by 3.6 percentage points in comparison to the previous year, to 54.7% of households.
- Conversely, the number of people experiencing homelessness after their prevention duty ends has decreased by 2.4 percentage points in comparison to the previous year, to 25% of households.
Fiona Colley, Director of Policy & Communications at Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services, commented:
“It is terrible to see the number of families and children trapped in unsuitable and health-threatening temporary accommodation continue to grow. However we are heartened to see positive signs in other parts of the system, with a decrease in households being found to be at risk of or experiencing homelessness, and more households having their homelessness prevented.
“We have welcomed the Prime Minister's pledge to end rough sleeping, and the record levels of additional funding to back this. We now need that same political drive focused on a coordinated effort to prevent and end all forms of homelessness.
“All of government must work together and be held accountable to ensure that people are not being pushed into homelessness through a lack of preventative support, whether that be in social security or healthcare. We are calling for a cross-government taskforce to lead on this ambition.
“We are also clear that the system and the way it is funded must be transformed from a patchwork of crisis interventions to a sustainable model rooted in prevention and long-term support. 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.”