London's temporary accommodation crisis – the latest data

What is temporary accommodation?

When someone becomes homeless, their local authority has a duty to provide accommodation. While waiting for a home, people are often housed in temporary accommodation (TA). This can come in many forms, like bed and breakfasts or privately rented accommodation.

As the name suggests, TA was only ever meant to be temporary, but people can be stuck in TA for a year, or even longer.

The latest data

The number of households in temporary accommodation in London has increased sharply over the last fifteen years. In 2025 – the last year we have full data for – 75,000 households were in TA in London, 50% higher than a decade earlier.

This data comes from the government, and counts households rather than individuals. By another estimate, based on surveys of local authorities carried out by London Councils, the number of individuals in TA is much higher: 183,000.

That’s one Londoner for every 50 – and the equivalent of one child in every classroom, costing London boroughs £4 million every day.

By borough

Newham has the highest proportion of residents in TA by far. For every 1,000 households in the borough, 59 are homeless and living in TA.

But in just about every borough, the problem is acute. Every London borough we have data for except two has a higher proportion of households in TA than the England average. And in six London boroughs, the proportion of residents in TA is five times higher than in the rest of England.

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Unsuitable accommodation

Temporary accommodation can take many forms. Most frequently, councils use the private rented sector, but when no other options are available, they turn to B&Bs and budget hotels.

B&Bs are poorly suited to families and long stays. Space is limited, bathrooms are often shared, and basic facilities like internet access, laundry and cooking are frequently absent. Because of this, the law places time limits on their use as temporary accommodation. Yet councils often have to rely on them.

There are signs this may be changing. In 2025, 4,500 London households were in B&B-style temporary accommodation: far higher than a decade ago, but a fall of more than 25% in a single year.

Several councils have now committed to ending the use of B&Bs for families entirely. This is hugely positive news for many families in temporary accommodation.

But this shift coincides with a separate and growing problem.

Increasing numbers housed 'out-of-borough'

When a council can't find suitable accommodation for a household within the borough, they sometimes place them in accommodation elsewhere.

Our research with Citizens UK shows that this can sometimes see families moved far away from their home boroughs, even to other cities.

This has a major impact on people’s lives. Children face long journeys to school, parents are cut off from support networks, and under-resourced local services struggle to cope with rising demand.

The scale of this problem has grown sharply. In 2025, more than 34,000 London households were placed in temporary accommodation outside their home borough: up more than 40% in two years, and more than double the figure from a decade ago.

Why does this matter?

Living in TA long term has a damaging impact on people’s lives. In 2023, Shelter carried out the largest survey among people living in TA. The findings were shocking: hundreds of thousands of people living in dangerous, unfit conditions, families living in TA for years, and deteriorating health and wellbeing.

Alongside the human impact, the TA crisis is financially unsustainable. With council budgets already stretched, local authorities are spending huge proportions of their budgets on TA. London Councils found that London’s boroughs are spending £90 million a month on providing temporary accommodation for residents.

What needs to change?

The current crisis is not an accident - it has been created by policy choices and can be solved by policy choices. We need to tackle the homelessness crisis at its root. Housing benefit levels need to be immediately raised so that people can afford a stable home. We also need to build significantly more social housing.

And when people do have to rely on TA, their stays should be as short, safe and healthy as possible. For this, we need national regulation and enforcement of quality standards.

We’re funding projects across London helping to strengthen the voice of TA residents. Read about this work here.

The data in this blog comes from London's Poverty Profile. Explore the profile here.