Households in temporary accommodation (England)

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), series Households in temporary accommodation at end of quarter, England (H-CLIC). Quarterly, about four to five months after the snapshot date. January to March 2026 was published on 13 August 2026; April to June 2026 is provisionally due on 29 October 2026. The GOV.UK Content API lists the .ods tables for each release; each quarter has a new page URL

What it measures

Temporary accommodation is housing that councils in England arrange for homeless households while they wait for a settled home, or while the council decides what duty it owes them. It includes self-contained flats and houses, hostels, bed and breakfast (B&B) hotels and nightly paid accommodation. This figure is the number of households in such accommodation on the last day of a quarter, reported by councils. It counts households, not people; MHCLG gives the number of children separately (177,530 on 31 March 2026). It does not include people sleeping rough or sofa surfing.

How to read it

Temporary accommodation is a stock, so it reflects how long households stay as well as how many arrive. Compare quarter-end dates, and note that the figure is published several months later. Rates per 1,000 households show where pressure is greatest: 5.5 in England, 21.1 in London and 2.8 in the rest of England. B&B is limited by law to six weeks for families with children, so MHCLG reports families beyond that limit. Homelessness law and counting differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so the figures cannot simply be added.

Background

MHCLG reported that 135,580 households were in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2026, the highest on record, up 1.1% on the quarter and 3.6% on a year earlier. Of these, 86,460 contained children and 49,120 were adults only. Nightly paid self-contained accommodation was the most common type, at 51,390 households (37.9%). The number of families with children in B&B has fallen each quarter since a peak on 30 June 2024, to 1,900 on 31 March 2026, of whom 1,000 had been there longer than six weeks. The current H-CLIC data collection began in April 2018.

Other parts of the UK

Scottish Government: homelessness statistics · Welsh Government: homelessness accommodation provision and rough sleeping · Department for Communities Northern Ireland: housing statistics · MHCLG: detailed local authority tables, January to March 2026

How many households are in temporary accommodation in England?

On 31 March 2026 there were 135,580 households in temporary accommodation arranged by councils in England, according to MHCLG figures published on 13 August 2026. That was a record high, up 3.6% on a year earlier.

How many children are in temporary accommodation?

MHCLG reported 177,530 children living in temporary accommodation in England on 31 March 2026, in 86,460 households. The number of children was 5.2% higher than a year earlier.

What counts as temporary accommodation?

It is accommodation a council in England arranges under homelessness law while a household waits for settled housing or a decision. It ranges from self-contained flats to hostels and B&B hotels. Households placed there are homeless households to whom the council owes a duty.

Where is temporary accommodation use highest?

London, where 21.1 households per 1,000 were in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2026, compared with 2.8 per 1,000 in the rest of England. Newham (59.8), Westminster (48.6) and Hackney (32.8) had the highest rates.

How long do families stay in temporary accommodation?

MHCLG publishes length of stay. On 31 March 2026 the most common length for households with children was two to five years (22,060 households, 25.5%), while for adult-only households it was under six months.

Related questions

• How many households are in temporary accommodation in England?
• How many people are homeless in England?
• How many people sleep rough in England?
• How many people are on social housing waiting lists?

More on this source: MHCLG housing and homelessness statistics (with MoJ possessions and devolved equivalents)