Experiences of hidden homelessness

Hidden homelessness can be experienced in a number of ways, including staying in temporary accommodation, sofa-surfing, and living in overcrowded conditions. 

Solving the issue of rough sleeping in London is a hugely important step, but we’re missing half of the picture if we don’t solve homelessness in all its forms. For that to happen, we must spotlight the issues surrounding hidden homelessness. 

Despite being tricky to define, hidden homelessness is essentially an umbrella term for people experiencing homelessness who are not counted in official statistics. The lack of clear definition is in part because the term encapsulates such a wide range of experiences, which we'll explore in this blog. 

Examples of hidden homelessness 

1. Temporary accommodation 

People facing or experiencing street homelessness often end up in temporary accommodation as an emergency measure. This accommodation can take the form of a hostel, hotel, B&B, private flat, council house, or room in a shared house. Whatever form it takes, it is a temporary fix, not a permanent home. 

According to the Office of National Statistics, 132,410 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2025, up 1.2% from the previous quarter and up 7.6% from the same time the previous year.

In London, things are much more serious – on 30 June 2025, there were 20.3 households living in temporary accommodation per 1,000 households in London, compared with 2.8 households per 1,000 in the Rest of England.

2. Sofa-surfing 

If it’s an option, many people experiencing homelessness will turn to friends or family for support and ask to stay with them, and this is referred to as sofa-surfing.  

The English Housing Survey (EHS) is one way that we can look at the population of people sofa-surfing in England. They found that from 2019 to 2021, 538,000 households had someone staying with them who would have otherwise been homeless.  

Looking at their most current data on sofa-surfing, which is from 2023-24, the EHS found that approximately 1.5 million households, or 6% of all households in England, contained an additional ‘concealed’ household (a person or group who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere, and therefore resorted to sofa-surfing).  

3. Overcrowded households 

Despite technically having a home, living in overcrowded conditions means that someone can be considered homeless. The National Housing Federation writes, “one of the strongest indicators that all is not well in our housing system is the level of overcrowding experienced by people in all tenures.”  

Between 2023 and 2024, over 800,000 households in England were considered to be overcrowded, which is approximately 3% of all households. In London, this figure is more than doubled – around 7% of households are thought to be overcrowded.

While the national 3% figure has remained fairly steady over the last 10 years, there has been an increase of research into the negative effects of overcrowding. Research by the National Housing Federation in 2023 found that 70% of overcrowded families reported experiencing both poor mental and physical health as a direct result of overcrowding, demonstrating the severity of the problem. 

4. Hidden rough sleepers  

Oftentimes, rough sleeping counts are done at night and only include people who have bedded down after dark. However, there are plenty of people in London who are not included in these counts, despite having nowhere to go.  

They may choose to sleep in the daytime and stay on public transport all night, or walk around until the sun comes up. They might choose to sleep in 24-hour chain restaurants like McDonalds (if they can) or find places to sleep that are completely hidden from sight, including from homeless outreach teams. 

These people experiencing hidden homelessness are disproportionately women, as it is often deeply unsafe for them to sleep visibly on the streets at night. You can read more about women’s homelessness in our blog post. 

5. Squatting 

In Squatting: a homelessness issue, Crisis describes squatting as a “common response to homelessness” and says that people who squat “occupy empty, usually disused or abandoned property, not other people’s homes”.  This is an important distinction to make, because too often, squatting is viewed as a criminal issue rather than the homelessness issue that it is. 

Evidence currently suggests that as many as 40% of single homeless people (those without children) squat as a response to homelessness, although they often won’t be seen by outreach teams. 

6. Unconventional structures 

Another type of hidden homelessness named in the evidence review by the Office of National Statistics is ‘unconventional structures’ – unsuitable accommodation that is non-permanent or non-standard, including tents, cars, caravans and sheds.  

In fact, a 2025 report from Crisis suggests that the number of people experiencing homelessness who resort to sleeping in unconventional structures has increased by 30% since 2020.

However, the line between rough sleeping and unconventional structures is not always clear, and different local authorities report on these figures based on their own definitions – so people sleeping in tents and cars may be counted in rough sleeping counts in parts of the UK. 

What we’re doing to help 

First and foremost, Glass Door Homeless Charity has an open access policy. This means that our services are open to anyone who turns to us for support, no matter who they are or where they come from. 

This approach means that we’re able to support people experiencing hidden homelessness as well as people currently sleeping rough or at risk of losing their homes. Year-round, we run an expert Casework Service, where guests can speak one-on-one with a trained caseworker who can help them build a route out of homelessness. 

One barrier that we face is that people experiencing this less visible form of homelessness may be less likely to come to us for support, or be aware of our services, but that’s why we’re dedicated to spotlighting this issue.  

Read more about the definition of hidden homelessness and who is most affected by it in our previous blog, What is hidden homelessness.