Across the UK, 118,000 young people aged 16-24 faced homelessness in the year to March 2024—a 10% rise—based on FOI data from English councils, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and other devolved nations.

The Centrepoint Helpline also found 564 cases of young people being wrongly turned away by councils across England between July 2023 and September 2024, with 202 cases wrongly categorised as not priority need. In one example, a pregnant 20-year-old rough sleeper was told she was not a priority until reaching 20 weeks pregnant and able to provide specific documentation.

The LGA said councils are “doing their best” to meet their duties under increasing pressure – with currently 123,100 households living in temporary accommodation, at a cost to of £2.3 billion a year.

Centrepoint’s annual Youth Homelessness Databank remains the only UK-wide measure, as no central data exists for English councils.

See also: Housing Crisis Impacts Young People’s ‘Sense of Belonging’, Violence Reduction Chief Warns