Housing need and homelessness statistics

Summary

The main producer of statistics on housing need and homelessness in England is the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). DLUHC publishes statistics on social rents, lettings and tenancies, social housing lettings, statutory homelessness, and rough sleeping as well as management information on support for people sleeping rough in England.

Statistics on housing need and homelessness in Scotland are published by the Scottish Government, the Scottish Housing Regulator, and the National Records of Scotland. These include annual housing statistics, statistics on management of local authority housing, and statutory homelessness in Scotland, and detahs of homless

The Welsh Government publishes estimates of housing need in Wales, statistics on social landlord housing stock and rents, statutory homelessness, and homelessness accommodation provision and rough sleeping in Wales.

In Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and the Department for Infrastructure are responsible for producing statistics on housing availability and homelessness. These include the Northern Ireland Housing Statistics report, statistics on statutory homelessness in Northern Ireland, and on homeless deaths.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also produces a range of homelessness related statistics. These include deaths of homeless people in England and Wales, and analysis of people experiencing homelessness in England and Wales from the 2021 Census.

Things to consider in statements about housing need and homelessness:

Housing policy is devolved across the United Kingdom, and different policy approaches have been taken by each country to try and meet the housing needs of their individual populations. These differences are typically reflected in the statistics and data produced by each UK nation, which creates distinct barriers to making equivalent comparisons between countries in many areas.

Homelessness statistics also do not include rough sleepers, or other groups that the public may generally understand as homeless. Official homelessness statistics also do not cover the entire homeless population at any one time. For example, statutory homelessness statistics will not reflect homelessness people who have not approached their local authority for support, or those who have been deemed to be ineligible for support, such as the ‘intentionally homeless.’ Nor do they include the number of people in recreational or organised protest, squats, or traveller campsites. The term hidden homelessness is sometimes used to refer to people experiencing homelessness who are not counted in official statistics; this typically includes people who are sofa surfing, squatting, or rough sleeping out of sight.

Estimates for housing need draw on household estimates and projections and measures of affordability. They are key to understanding local housing need, combining estimates of existing unmet need with those of newly arising need. They do not attempt to estimate the number of households in unsuitable accommodation.

What to look out for when hearing statements on this topic:

The terms ‘homeless’ and ‘rough sleeper’ are frequently used interchangeably in public debate. Our work in this area has highlighted a risk of confusion due to multiple publications using differing definitions across the UK. While rough sleepers are the most visible form of homelessness, there are other large, though less-visible groups of individuals without somewhere permanent to live. There is also overlap and flow between these groups, and other individuals who are vulnerable to becoming homeless or to sleeping rough at any point in time.

Each of the devolved nations publishes different information on homelessness. Headline figures for homelessness across all four UK countries should generally not be compared due to legislative and data collection differences. However, characteristics of homeless households, trends in the number of households in temporary accommodation, and demographics of households in temporary accommodation can be compared across the UK. Official figures for households that have been threatened with homelessness in England, Wales, and Scotland can be compared. Furthermore, each country provides varying amounts of information on rough sleeping, meaning that comparability is limited.

Official rough sleeping statistics are usually based on ‘snapshot’, or point in time estimates, rather than a cumulative measure of the number of rough sleepers over time. Rough sleepers are a particularly hard to measure population so may be underrepresented in the published rough sleeping official statistics.

Wider support

The Government Statistical Service (GSS) has completed extensive work documenting sources of housing official statistics produced across the UK in an accessible form for users. Other support available from the GSS and Analysis Function includes the:

• GSS statistics landscape tool on homelessness and rough sleeping statistics.
• Definitions of UK homelessness terms and the comparability of their statistics.
• Harmonisation of definitions of homelessness for United Kingdom (UK) official statistics: a feasibility report.

Some charities, particularly in the homelessness sector, such as Crisis, Shelter Homeless Link publish their own research, data and analysis. The Centre for Homelessness Impact is the What Works Centre for homelessness and has a published a range of evidence papers.

• The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing EvidenceData Navigator is also recognised as an alternative data source for non-official statistics, including on homelessness.
• OSR’s Two-year update: Public Value of Statistics on Housing and Planning in the UK shares the progress made since OSR’s Systemic Review exploring the Public value of Statistics on Housing and Planning in the UK.
• OSR’s Public value of Statistics on Housing and Planning in the UK presents findings from OSR’s Systemic Review exploring the Public value of Statistics on Housing and Planning in the UK. Our review and its findings are focussed on the user perspective; we engaged with over 60 people, including representatives from 43 organisations, to inform our understanding of how these statistics meet the needs of users and how they can be improved.