Estimating the scale of youth homelessness in the UK

Summary

Key findings

Young people using homelessness services

• Around 83,000 homeless young people have been accommodated by local authorities or homelessness services during the last year.
• There are around 35,000 young people in homeless accommodation at any one time across the UK.
• The proportion of homeless young people who are assessed as statutory homeless varies areas across the UK, with Scotland assisting the large majority of young people via the homelessness legislation, whilst in England (outside London) young people are more commonly assisted without a formal homelessness assessment.
• Access to emergency accommodation is increasingly controlled by local authorities rather than the accommodation providers themselves. This means providers themselves are less aware of the overall needs for their services.
• Overcrowding increased between 2001 and 2011, suggesting that there is a growing underlying housing pressure.