According to the latest Statutory homelessness in England statistics released by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), 14,140 16-24-year-olds in danger of homelessness were owed a prevention or relief duty between April and June 2025.
However, youth homelessness charity Centrepoint is warning that thousands more young people across the country are facing homelessness every year, with the charity’s latest Youth Homelessness Databank indicating that over 100,000 young people in England approached their council for help in 2023/24 because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness. It also says that around a third of young people facing homelessness are not getting the assessment they are entitled to let alone the support they need, so would not show up in these official figures.
In addition, 1,100 18–20-year-old care leavers were recorded as being owed homelessness support between April and June 2025, – this is a 75% increase on 2018 figures for the same quarter (630).
A total of 78,630 households were assessed as being owed a prevention or relief duty between April and June 2025, and the number of children living in temporary accommodation in England has risen to the highest level since records began in 2004.
Additional data gathered by the Centrepoint found that 8,090 young households (16–24-year-olds) were moved into temporary accommodation in 2023-2024, representing 16% of all households who entered temporary accommodation that year.
Concerningly, the charity also found that young households are staying in temporary accommodation for longer periods; 31% of young households had stayed in temporary accommodation between one and five years at the point data was collected. Centrepoint says that some types of temporary accommodation provided – including B&Bs – are often inappropriate for young people who are at risk of homelessness, and that they should be supported to access social homes or affordable properties in the private rented sector.
Dr Lisa Doyle, Centrepoint’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “There are still far too many young people and care leavers facing homelessness. We also know that these statistics under report the scale of demand, and that one third of the young people who reach out to their councils aren’t getting the assessments they are legally entitled to. This means thousands of young people wouldn’t appear in this data and thousands are left without support.
“There’s also a record number of children living in temporary accommodation. Experiencing homelessness and housing instability at such a young age can have devastating effects on a child’s mental health and their ability to live independently in the future.
“Things need to change. What’s needed now is decisive action to tackle the housing crisis and a clear plan for reducing and preventing homelessness across the country. A good starting point would be publishing the long-promised strategy to end homelessness and funding settlements that focus on prevention to ensure young people never have to experience homelessness in the first place.”
