A 14% surge in homelessness across England has been driven by soaring private rents, increased evictions, and a severe shortage of affordable social housing, according to research by Shelter. 

The charity called the findings "shocking" and "astounding." The report estimates that over 354,000 people, including 161,500 children, are homeless on any given night—equivalent to one in every 160 people. This marks an increase of 44,500 individuals within a year, up from one in 182 people.

London has the highest concentration of homelessness, with one in 47 people affected. Outside the capital, Slough has the highest rate at one in 51, followed by Luton (one in 57), Manchester (one in 61), Birmingham (one in 62), and Hastings (one in 64).

Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, said it was “unimaginable” that so many people would spend this winter homeless, whether on the streets or in a mouldy hostel room.

“I’m shocked but I’m not surprised,” she said. “This rise has been happening year on year for the seven years I’ve been at Shelter and the number of children who are homeless has also increased every year.”

She said the phrase “temporary accommodation” was a misnomer as it could be for years.

“None of us get our childhoods back, do we? The impact it has on your childhood is devastating, I can’t think of another word.”

The big problem, Neate said, was “we do not have homes that people on low incomes can actually afford to rent. Private rents are going up and up. People are getting evicted. They go to the council because they are homeless and the council has no social homes.

“We’ve got a perfect storm. This isn’t a kind of existential crisis that we don’t know the answer to. The answer is to build homes that people on low incomes can afford to rent.”

Shelter said its research into people living in temporary accommodation, sleeping on the streets and living in hostels was “the most comprehensive overview of recorded homelessness in England”. It is likely to underestimate the true picture as some things, such as sofa surfing, go unrecorded.

The figures also showed that:

• An estimated 326,000 people, most of them families with children, are in temporary accommodation in England, a 17% rise in one year.

• About 3,900 people are sleeping rough on any given night, a 10% increase.
• There are a further 16,600 single people in hostels or other homeless accommodation.

Shelter said people were often experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives.

It gave the example of Sally, 43, who is living in temporary accommodation in Dorset with her 14-year-old-daughter. Sally was evicted and spent eight hours on the street before getting a hotel room.

They are now in an unsuitable one-bedroom flat that is noisy and scary, she said. “My daughter keeps telling me she can’t live in these conditions. We’ve been messed about for months and there’s nothing we can do about it. It makes me feel like our lives are worthless.”

The government said Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, was now chairing a new group of ministers from different departments to help tackle the root causes of homelessness.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “These figures are shocking and they show the devastating reality of the homelessness crisis which we have inherited.

“No one should have to spend Christmas without a home, and this government is taking urgent action to get us back on track to ending homelessness, including committing £1bn in funding to support homelessness services.

“We will go even further to fix these housing challenges by building the social and affordable homes we need as part of our plan for change.”