A charity says rising rents are one of the key factors leading to growing numbers of people sleeping rough.

Figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network show that the number of people living in the streets in London from October to December 2024 was 704 – that’s a 26% rise on the same period last year. 

The data shows that compared to five years ago (October-December 2019), the total number of people living on the streets has increased 55%, from 455 to 704. 

Overall, the number of people forced to sleep rough in London from October to December 2024 was 4,612– a 5% rise from the same period last year.  

The number of people sleeping rough for the first time in London between October to December was 2,115, down 7% compared to the same time last year. 

The charity Crisis claims there are several factors which are forcing people to sleep rough and remain stuck on the streets. It says: “This includes rising rents, benefits falling short of housing costs, and gaps in support services such as those for mental health and domestic abuse.”

It says underpinning all of these issues is a lack of safe and affordable housing which is causing a rise in all forms of homelessness across England. In 2023/24, over 320,000 households in England faced homelessness – the highest on record and an increase of 8% on the previous year. 

Crisis, alongside other housing and homelessness charities, has long called for an additional 90,000 social rented homes to be built every year to end homelessness, alongside providing the support people sleeping rough need to find and keep a home.  

The charity’s chief executive Matt Downie says: “No one should be forced to spend a night on the streets, let alone have to live there permanently. It’s shameful that one of the most dangerous forms of homelessness is continuing to rise, yet like all other forms it is completely preventable.  

“We need an ambitious national strategy that sets delivering more social housing that people can afford at its heart. This would not only prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, but it would also mean that people rough sleeping now can be housed more quickly and be able to leave the streets behind for good. 

“There are already promising commitments and action underway to end rough sleeping in London. But the increasing number of people on our streets shows that we desperately need to shift our focus to looking at the causes of homelessness, so we can put in place measures to stop people from ever reaching this crisis point. These steps, alongside building more genuinely affordable homes, will end the damage that homelessness causes to people’s lives.”