Homelessness in the United Kingdom is measured and responded to in differing ways in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but affects people living in every part of the UK's constituent countries. Most homeless people have at least a modicum of shelter but without any security of tenure. Unsheltered people, "rough sleepers", are a small minority of homeless people.
The UK homeless charity Shelter estimated in 2019 that the number of people in England who were entirely homeless or in temporary accommodation was 280,000. [1] [2] Rough sleepers are only a small proportion of the homeless. [3] Crisis estimates there are roughly 12,300 rough sleepers in the UK and also 12,000 people sleeping in sheds, bins, cars, tents and night busses. The figure is derived from research by Heriot-Watt University. People experiencing homelessness sleeping in bins are sometimes crushed to death by compacting machinery or otherwise killed when bins are collected and dealt with by waste disposal companies. [4]
According to figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government, the number of people registered as homeless with local councils was just over 100,000 in 1998, rose to 135,000 in 2003 before declining in the years up to and during the Great Recession. After a low of 40,000 in 2009 and 2010, the figure rose to just under 60,000 in 2017. [3] The number living in temporary accommodation rose from 50,000 in 1998 to 100,000 in 2005, declining back to 50,000 in 2011, then rising to 80,000 in 2017. [3]
The number of rough sleepers was 4,800 in 2017 compared to 1,800 in 2010, when comparable records begin. Crisis attributes rising homelessness to a shortage of social housing, housing benefits not covering private rents and a shortage of homeless prevention schemes for people leaving care. [5]
Of the people experiencing homelessness who died in 2017, the average age was 44 for men and 42 for women. Suicide, substance and excessive alcohol use are the most common causes of death among people experiencing homelessness in the UK. [6]
In 2023, the number of homeless people in England hit record levels, with 104,510 people in England in temporary accommodation. [7] An estimated 3,898 people slept rough in England in 2023, over double the estimated figure from 2010. [8]
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Historically, support for people who became homeless was provided by monastic communities. After the Reformation, forms of support through early local government structures were provided by means of the poor law, which differed in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
Eventually, a system of formally elected local authorities replaced the poor law unions. The current system of local authority housing and homelessness assistance in England, was introduced by the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and is currently overseen through the Housing Act 1996. [9]
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To prevent homelessness the charity Crisis maintains the public sector should: [10]
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The longer term causes of homelessness have been examined by a number of research studies. A number of different pathways into homelessness have been identified; [12] research suggests that both personal factors (e.g. addictions) and structural factors (e.g. poverty) are ultimately responsible for the sequence of events that results in homelessness. For young people, there are additional factors that appear to be involved, most notably needing to face the responsibilities of independent living before they are ready for them. [13] Rising costs of housing and increases in job insecurity have also been identified as contributing factors. [14]
Policy on homelessness is overseen by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes and Communities Agency in England, [15] the Scottish Government Housing and Social Justice Directorate, [16] the Welsh Government, [17] and the Department for Communities and Northern Ireland Housing Executive [18] [19] in Northern Ireland. It has been a devolved policy area outside England since the introduction of devolution in the 1990s. The Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 focused national attention on homelessness and housing quality, and resulted in around 255 people becoming homeless overnight. [20] It was reported in The Guardian in 2018 that half of young people at risk of homelessness in the UK who approached their local authority, received no significant help. [21]
All Local Housing Authorities (LHAs) in the United Kingdom have a legal statutory duty to provide 24-hour advice to homeless people, or those who are at risk of becoming homeless within 28 days. Once an individual applies to the appropriate City Council, Borough Council, District Council or Unitary Authority for assistance, from a person claiming to be homeless (or threatened with homelessness), the Local Housing Authority is also legally duty bound to make detailed inquiries into that person's circumstances, in order to decide whether they meet the criteria, which are defined as statutory homelessness. For people meeting such criteria, the Local Housing Authority therefore has a legal statutory duty to find Temporary Accommodation for the person, and then provide them with assistance to find a permanent, long term adequate dwelling, that will usually be within the Private Rented Sector (PRS), but sometimes will be a property with a Housing Association, a council house, or a council flat.
A person suffers statutory homelessness if governmental regulations oblige the council to provide housing-related support to the person. At present this criterion is met if (and only if) all of the following conditions are true:
The definition of priority need varies between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but generally includes any of following conditions being met:
A person does not have to be roofless to legally qualify as lacking a permanent home. They may be in possession of accommodation which it is not reasonably feasible to continue to use by virtue of its affordability, condition, or location. The requirement to have a local connection does not apply if it would lead to the applicant becoming a victim of violence, or at risk of violence.
In Wales, priority need was similarly extended to include individuals who are aged 18 to 20 and at risk of financial or sexual exploitation, but provided they are leaving care.
Temporary accommodation must be provided to those that might be suffering statutory homelessness, pending a final decision. Often bed and breakfast hotels are used for temporary accommodation, unless a suitable hostel or refuge is available. The suitability of temporary accommodation is often a topic of concern for local media, and pressure groups.
If the council concludes that the applicant suffers statutory homelessness then the local authority has a legal duty to find long-term accommodation for the applicant and their household (those dependants who would ordinarily be living with them), and any other person whom it is reasonable to expect to reside with them. The council must offer/continue to provide temporary accommodation to such an applicant, on an immediate basis, until long-term accommodation is found for them.
Long-term accommodation may not necessarily be a socially rented home (one provided by the council, or by a Housing Association); the council can discharge its duty by finding an appropriate private sector tenancy for the applicant.
If the authority decides that a person does lack a home, but does not qualify as suffering statutory homelessness, then a lesser obligation applies.
Where the applicant merely lacks a local connection to the council, the council will usually refer the applicant's case to a local authority with which they do have a local connection. If the applicant is in priority need, but is considered to have become homeless intentionally, the local authority is obliged to provide temporary accommodation for as long as is reasonably necessary for the applicant to find long-term accommodation; this is usually a fortnight, but additional periods of similar length can sometimes be provided at the council's discretion (typically granted in cases of extenuating circumstances).
A national service, called Streetlink, was established in 2012 to help members of the public obtain near-immediate assistance for specific rough sleepers, with the support of the Government (as housing is a devolved matter, the service currently only extends to England). Currently, the service doesn't operate on a statutory basis, and the involvement of local authorities is merely due to political pressure from the government and charities, with funding being provided by the government (and others) on an ad-hoc basis. The UK government has cut funding to local authorities and local authorities feel forced to reduce services for people experiencing homelessness. It is feared this will increase the numbers of rough sleepers and increase the numbers dying while sleeping rough. [23]
A member of the public who is concerned that someone is sleeping on the streets can report the individual's details via the Street Link website or by calling its hotline. Someone who finds themselves sleeping on the streets can also report their situation using the same methods.
The service aims to respond within 24 hours, including an assessment of the individual circumstances and an offer of temporary accommodation for the following nights. The response typically includes a visit to the rough sleeper early in the morning that follows the day or night on which the report has been made. The service operates via a number of charities and with the assistance of local councils.
Where appropriate, rough sleepers will also be offered specialist support:
Other organisations, like The Connection at St. Martin's, address a range of complex needs. This is because many people sleeping rough struggle with multiple complex needs like addiction, poor mental health or unclear immigration status.
It was reported in 2018 that at least 50 local authorities had enacted Public Space Protection Orders to deter begging in town centres. [24] Liberty has argued that these ordinances are illegal and that people experiencing homelessness often lack the access to the legal aid support needed to challenge them. [25]
Practical advice regarding homelessness can be obtained through a number of major non-governmental organisations including,
Centrepoint is a charity in the United Kingdom which provides accommodation and support to homeless people aged 16–25. The Prince of Wales has been a patron of the organisation since 2005; his first patronage. His mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was patron of the organisation before she died.
Crisis is the UK national charity for people experiencing homelessness. The charity offers year-round education, employment, housing and well-being services from centres in East London, Newcastle, Oxford, Edinburgh, South Wales, Croydon, Brent and Merseyside, called Crisis Skylight Centres.
Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state pension, totalling £23.8 billion in 2013–14.
The Rough Sleepers Initiative was an initiative by the Government of the United Kingdom's Rough Sleepers Unit (RSU), which resulted from a campaign by St Mungo's, a London homelessness charity, called National Sleep Out Week. It was designed to accommodate homeless people with emergency hostels.
Homelessness in Australia is a social issue concerning the number of people in Australia that are considered to be homeless. There are no internationally agreed upon definitions of homelessness, making it difficult to compare levels of homelessness across countries. A majority of people experiencing homelessness long-term in Australia are found in the large cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It is estimated that on any given night approximately 116,000 people will be homeless and many more are living in insecure housing, "one step away from being homeless". A person who does not obtain any shelter is often described as sleeping 'rough'.
In England, local authorities have duties to homeless people under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002. There are five hurdles which a homeless person must overcome in order to qualify as statutory homeless. If an applicant only meets the first three of these tests Councils still have a duty to provide interim accommodation. However an applicant must satisfy all five for a Council to have to give an applicant "reasonable preference" on the social housing register. Even if a person passes these five tests councils have the ability to use the private rented sector to end their duty to a homeless person.
Launceston City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, located in the city and surrounds of Launceston in the north of the state. The Launceston local government area is classified as urban and has a population of 77,363, which also encompasses localities including Lilydale, Targa and through to Swan Bay on the eastern side of the Tamar River.
Thames Reach is a London-based charity working with people who have experienced homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness.
Homelessness in Scotland is considered a serious social issue. Since the Scottish devolution from the United Kingdom in 1999 and the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament homeless legislation and policy in Scotland has diverged in important ways from the rest of the UK.
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure, and people who leave their homes because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.
Anti-homelessness legislation can take two forms: legislation that aims to help and re-house homeless people; and legislation that is intended to send homeless people to homeless shelters compulsorily, or to criminalize homelessness and begging.
Louise Casey, Baroness Casey of Blackstock,, is a Crossbench peer and former British government official.
The St Mungo Community Housing Association, working as St Mungo's, is a charity registered in England to help homeless people.
Gatekeeping is a term in British housing law which describes when a Council refuses to accept a homelessness application and/or provide accommodation when they have a legal duty to do so. Pressure for Councils to engage in "gatekeeping" can be the result of the high cost of providing temporary accommodation or there simply not being enough housing within a borough to accommodate homeless applicants. Gatekeeping practices of some local authorities have been challenged by judicial review.
Homelessness in Ireland is an evolving social issue. During the 19th century, homelessness was a pervasive impact of the Great Famine (1845–1852). During the 20th century, homelessness in Ireland was associated with older males who may have had addiction or alcoholism issues. However, since the 1990s and into the 21st century, it has been recognised that the homeless population includes increasing numbers of women and children. Commentators have attributed the ongoing events to the post-2008 Irish economic downturn and 'subsequent fiscal adjustments', and the parallel impacts of reduced familial incomes, mortgage arrears and rental increases which followed impacts to housing supply.
Domestic violence and abuse in the United Kingdom are a range of abusive behaviours that occur within relationships. Domestic violence or abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual, financial or emotional. In UK laws and legislation, the term "domestic abuse" is commonly used to encompass various forms of domestic violence. Some specific forms of domestic violence and abuse are criminal offences. Victims or those at risk of domestic abuse can also be provided with remedies and protection via civil law.
The Homeless Foundation is a registered charity based in the West Midlands with the aim of eradicating homelessness across the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2007 and is run by a board of trustees.
R. v Secretary of State for the Home Department was a case decided on 3 November 2005 by the UK House of Lords that determined whether or not a delay in initiating an application to seek asylum limited an individual from receiving access to state relief. Furthermore, the case questioned whether this denial of state relief constituted a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 ('ECHR').
The Whitechapel Centre is a homeless day-centre and registered charity in Langsdale Street, Liverpool, England. Established in 1975, it works with people in the Liverpool and Sefton areas, offering advice and information about housing. The centre is open 12 hours a day for 365 days a year. From 2018 until the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Whitechapel Centre also offered a night shelter, Labre House.
Tim Heatley is a British property developer and co-founder of Capital & Centric.
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