Rough sleeping surges to post-pandemic high, new CSJ data reveals

Thursday, 27 November 2025 11:48

Long-term rough sleeping also at record levels, with 3,400 sleeping rough for over three of the last twelve months Asylum crisis putting continued pressure on homelessness services. Proposals to roll out “Housing First” scheme backed by Labour mayors Steve Rotherham and Andy Burnham Rough sleeping has hit a new post-pandemic high, according to new official data. 9,574 people were sleeping rough over the course of July 2025, an increase of 94 per cent since...Request free trial

Rough sleeping has hit a new post-pandemic high, according to new official data.

9,574 people were sleeping rough over the course of July 2025, an increase of 94 per cent since July 2021.

Today's publication from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government admitted that the figures showed rough sleeping “at record highs for this time of year” and that the “number of people seen sleeping rough over the month and on a single night are higher compared to the same time last year".

Rough sleeping has increased across every region of England compared to the previous year, with the exception of London and the East Midlands. Across England as a whole, rough sleeping across September was at a record high.

The asylum crisis is continuing to put pressure on homelessness services. For example, at the July peak, eight veterans were estimated to have left the armed forces for the streets, compared to 193 sleeping rough after leaving asylum accommodation.

In London, just under half of people sleeping rough are non-UK nationals.

The number of people sleeping rough long-term hit a new record in September, with 3,397 people seen sleeping rough in three or more of the last 12 months. Long term rough sleepers are the largest group of people sleeping rough and have grown by over a quarter (28 per cent) since September 2023, and by 10 per cent since last year.

Source: CSJ analysis of MHCLG rough sleeping data framework

A report from major think tank the Centre for Social Justice, No Place Like Home, is urging ministers to roll out the successful Housing First model to get British rough sleepers into secure accommodation.

Pointing to successful pilots in the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands, the report said: “Housing First has been shown to be the most effective and well-evidenced intervention to end homelessness for Britain's most disadvantaged and entrenched rough sleepers.”

Housing First is three and a half times more effective in enabling people to secure and sustain permanent housing than conventional homeless services, the think tank finds.

Across the pilots, Housing First had 84 per cent of users sustaining long-term housing after around three years of being on the programme.

Introducing the Housing First programme across England would take 5,571 people off the streets by 2029/30. For every £1 invested into Housing First, up to £2 is returned to the taxpayer and society, including through savings to services like the NHS, homelessness outreach, temporary accommodation and criminal justice.

A national Housing First programme would cost £103 million over four years, paid for by scrapping relocation expenses for civil servants, a 20 per cent reduction in the programme which moves government departments into the regions, and re-allocating 5.5 per cent of the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant for Housing First.

Matthew Torbitt, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), said:

“These figures are a savage indictment if one was needed that we're still failing too many people who are sleeping rough.

“From firsthand experience, I know the only way to help someone off the streets for good is to provide a safe and stable home alongside the right care and support. That's why it's vital that Housing First sits at the heart of the Government's upcoming homelessness strategy.”

Commenting on today's release of the latest rough sleeping data, Steve Morgan CBE, Chair of the Steve Morgan Foundation and former owner and chairman of housebuilder Redrow, said:

“I know firsthand the importance of a stable home. Without one, nothing else in life works, neither your health, nor your relationships, nor your ability to find or keep a job. Today's data on rough sleeping show the scale of the challenge facing the government.

“This is why I believe that Housing First is the key to tackling complex rough sleeping. It's an approach rooted in common sense, recognising that no one can rebuild their life whilst trapped in an endless cycle of homelessness, emergency accommodation, and crisis services. I echo the CSJ in calling for the government to commit to a national rollout of Housing First within the forthcoming Homelessness Strategy.”