164,040 children are currently living in temporary accommodation, data from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG’s) latest Statutory Homelessness Statistics report has revealed.
From July to September 2024, households in temporary accomodation with children increased 2.7% from the previous quarter, and 15.7% from 30 September 2023, with the current number a record since the data series began.
126,040 households were in temporary accommodation, which is an increase of 15.7% from 30 September 2023.
Compared to the previous quarter, the number of households in temporary accommodation had increased by 2.4%
The ending of a private tenancy accounted for over a quarter of homelessness prevention and relief cases, the largest one cause of homelessness.
6,800 households threatened with homelessness due to service of a Section 21 notice to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which increased by 0.6% from the same quarter last year.
Nye Jones, head of campaigns for Generation Rent, said: “Behind every statistic are thousands of stories of people facing some of the most stressful, traumatic and insecure times of their lives.
“It could be a pensioner staring down the barrel of homelessness because of one too many complaints about a leaking roof.
“It could be a single mother, evicted by her landlord through no fault of her own and now trying to raise her children in temporary accommodation, dealing with issues like damp, mould and overcrowding.
“At the same time, providing temporary accommodation is crippling local authority finances. “
Jones added: “The Government’s plans to end Section 21 Evictions through the Renters’ Rights Bill is welcome.
“It will stop thousands of people from having to experience homelessness because their landlord feels like it.
“However, there are also few measures in the Bill to prevent landlords using rent hikes as evictions.
“Putting a limit on how much landlords can raise the rent would prevent this and go a long way to turning off the tap from private renting to homelessness and temporary accommodation.”
