Homelessness in London

Between April 2024 and March 2025, outreach teams in London registered 13,231 people sleeping rough in London, the highest number ever recorded. This data comes from the Greater London Authority’s most recent annual Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) report. 

This number represents a 63% increase compared to ten years ago. Of these 13,231 people, 8,396 (63%) were sleeping rough for the first time. 

It is worth noting that not everyone who sleeps rough is seen by outreach workers, so the real number could be much higher. Beyond this, rough sleeping is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to homelessness. 

The total number of people experiencing homelessness in London is in the hundreds of thousands, and constantly rising. This number includes those sleeping in places where they can’t be seen, e.g. in shelters, hostels, or on night buses, those sofa-surfing, and most significantly, those in temporary accommodation. 

There are also more and more people coming to us for support who are not currently experiencing homelessness but are at risk, and are worried about not being able to pay their rent and losing their homes. 

Every year, thousands of people come to us for casework support and emergency shelter. Our guests’ backgrounds and experiences vary widely. They range from 18 to 82 years old, hailing from all across London, the UK and the world.  

Our open access ethos in practice means that no matter who you are or where you are from, you can turn to us for support. 

Homelessness can happen to any of us, and we are working every day to help people find a route out of homelessness.