Number of people forced to live on the streets in London on the rise – Crisis responds

National homelessness charity Crisis calls for an ambitious national strategy to tackle all forms of homelessness  

Figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) show that the number of people “living in the streets” in London from October to December 2024 was 704 – that's a 26% rise on the same period last year. The data shows: 

• The number of people deemed to be living on the streets rose to 704, an increase of 26%. This highlights the challenges people face as they struggle to access affordable housing and the support they need to leave homelessness behind. 

• Compared to five years ago (October-December 2019), the total number of people living on the streets has increased 55%, from 455 to 704. 

• Overall, the number of people forced to sleep rough in London from October to December 2024 was 4,612– a 5% rise from the same period last year.  

• The number of people sleeping rough for the first time in London between October to December was 2,115, down 7% compared to the same time last year. 

There are several factors which are forcing people to sleep rough and remain stuck on the streets. This includes rising rents, benefits falling short of housing costs, and gaps in support services such as those for mental health and domestic abuse. 

Underpinning all of these issues is a lack of safe and affordable housing which is causing a rise in all forms of homelessness across England. In 2023/24, over 320,000 households in England faced homelessness – the highest on record and an increase of 8% on the previous year. 

Crisis, alongside other housing and homelessness charities, has long called for an additional 90,000 social rented homes to be built every year to end homelessness, alongside providing the support people sleeping rough need to find and keep a home.  Delivering these would help people to rebuild their lives away from the streets and temporary accommodation, which far too many people are trapped in. 

Responding to today's figures, Matt Downie, Chief Executive at Crisis, said: “No one should be forced to spend a night on the streets, let alone have to live there permanently. It's shameful that one of the most dangerous forms of homelessness is continuing to rise, yet like all other forms it is completely preventable.  

“We need an ambitious national strategy that sets delivering more social housing that people can afford at its heart. This would not only prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, but it would also mean that people rough sleeping now can be housed more quickly and be able to leave the streets behind for good. 

“There are already promising commitments and action underway to end rough sleeping in London. But the increasing number of people on our streets shows that we desperately need to shift our focus to looking at the causes of homelessness, so we can put in place measures to stop people from ever reaching this crisis point. These steps, alongside building more genuinely affordable homes, will end the damage that homelessness causes to people's lives.” 

Notes to editors 

About CHAIN 

Today, Thursday 31 January 2025 the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) statistics have been published, showing levels of rough sleeping across London for the period October to December 2024. 

Conducted by outreach teams in regular contact with people on the streets, CHAIN is considered the most thorough approach to collecting data on people sleeping rough. 

Read and download the latest CHAIN figures here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports  

Greater London Authority's plan for tackling rough sleeping 

The Mayor has committed to working with the government to set London on a course to end rough sleeping by 2030. A new Rough Sleeping Plan of Action will set the framework for achieving this goal. 

Read more about the Plan of Action here.