Rough sleeping in London jumped by almost a fifth in three months this summer, new figures show, with 4,678 people recorded sleeping rough in the capital between July and September 2026.
The figures come from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), the UK’s most detailed rough sleeping database, which published its Q2 report on 30 October. The total is 1% lower than the same three months last year, but 18% higher than the previous quarter.
Among the headline findings:
- 2,168 people were recorded sleeping rough for the first time in the quarter — 2% higher than the same time last year and 29% higher than the previous quarter. First-time rough sleepers accounted for 46% of the total.
- 819 people were classed as “living on the streets”, having had a high number of contacts with outreach teams over three weeks or more — up 8% on the same period last year and 20% on the previous quarter. That figure is up 93% on five years ago and more than double (152%) the same period ten years ago.
- 845 women were seen sleeping rough. Women are undercounted in rough sleeping statistics as they are often hidden from public view due to safety reasons.
- Of those who had previously slept rough and moved into accommodation between July and September, the vast majority (78%) were moved into hubs, shelters and other forms of temporary accommodation, rather than settled housing (just 22%).
The overall total of 4,678 is 60% higher than the same period five years ago, when Covid “Everyone In” measures saw rough sleeping numbers fall drastically in London.
There was one brighter spot in the figures: the number of 18 to 25-year-olds recorded sleeping rough fell by 24% compared with the same period last year, according to Depaul UK, which welcomed the fall while noting the total across all ages remained broadly unchanged.
Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services which manages the CHAIN data, said the rise in rough sleeping demonstrates the challenges ahead in turning government ambitions on rough sleeping into action. Crisis, responding to the figures, pointed to the rise in people living on the streets and the low share moving into settled housing.
How the summer compares
The summer quarter continues a volatile year. In the previous quarter, April to June 2026, CHAIN recorded 3,959 people sleeping rough in London — 10% lower than the same period last year but only slightly up (0.38%) on the quarter before. The jump to 4,678 in July to September is the sharpest quarterly rise of the year so far, driven largely by the surge in people sleeping rough for the first time.
The figures land as London heads into winter, when the risks for people sleeping outside rise sharply — and as the capital’s housing pressures continue, with Southwark’s housing allocation scheme facing a legal challenge and Greenwich approving 452 new council homes at Kidbrooke.
