Homelessness: information and statistics
The homelessness landscape is continually changing with new policies and statistics being published regularly. Here you can access a range of useful statistics resources and information sheets.
Factsheets
What is Homelessness? Definitions and Risk factors
Download pdf (111k)
Statistics briefs
Key Statistics about Homelessness
Download PDF (152k)
Homeless numbers
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) produces
briefings on the English Local Authority homeless statistics four times a year (a function previously undertaken by ODPM - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).
However these releases do not reflect the true extent of homelessness in England as they only record those households that are accepted by local authorities as in priority need.
To be recorded as ‘accepted’ a household will have had to approach a local authority, be able to complete an application, been considered as eligible by the local authority, been recognised to be homeless and then as unintentionally homeless, and finally be accepted as in priority need. A decision is therefore based on a rationing system determined by resource constraints rather than need. Even though an applicant is found to be homeless, a number of further hurdles have to be overcome.
This complex process often means that homeless people, and particularly vulnerable single homeless people, slip through the net and do not appear in official statistics on homelessness. Many people do not present as homeless to the local authority as they believe they are not entitled to any help. Other single homeless people have applied in the past and have found themselves ineligible for housing from their local authority – even though they are homeless.
Crisis, working with the New Policy Institute (NPI), has estimated that there are 380,000 hidden homeless households in the UK at any one time. The majority of these households are single homeless.
For further information on Hidden Homelessness please explore the
Homelessness Policy Watch website or download any of Crisis' reports from the Research Bank, including:
Homelessness Factfile
Hidden Homelessness: Britain's Invisible City
How Many, How Much: Single homelessness and the question of numbers and cost