Youth homelessness in the UK is rising, and too many young people are being turned away.
Centrepoint’s latest Youth Homelessness Databank shows that 123,934 young people faced homelessness across the UK in 2024–25, 6 per cent more than the year before, a sharp annual rise that should concern policymakers in every nation.
Put simply, this means that around 1 in every 60 young people in the UK was estimated to be homeless or at risk of homelessness last year.
The Databank remains the only UK-wide picture of youth homelessness. It draws together data from Freedom of Information requests local authorities across England and Northern Ireland and from open sources in Scotland and Wales. However, the Databank only captures young people who approached their council for help. Many more never get that far, meaning that the true figure is likely much higher.
To better understand what is happening behind the numbers, we also spoke to frontline Centrepoint staff, local authority housing teams, refugee and asylum support services, domestic abuse specialists, and charities across the devolved nations. A consistent picture emerged: more young people are asking for help, but too many are struggling to get it.
England: rising need, falling assessments
In England, youth homelessness rose to 107,585 in 2024–25, a 6 per cent increase from the previous financial year. But at the same time, fewer young people are being assessed by their local authority when they ask for help.
Under the Homelessness Reduction Act (2017), local authorities must carry out an assessment when somebody presents as homeless. It is how councils determine what support a young person is entitled to. Without it, there is no formal duty and often no recorded help.
Yet the national assessment rate has fallen again this year. There has been an annual decline in the national assessment rate whereby only 65 percent of young people are being assessed for housing duty by their local councils, with roughly 35 percent of young people not receiving housing assessment. This means a significant proportion of young people who approach their council are not being assessed at all, including some who may be legally entitled to support.
This practice, often referred to as gatekeeping, has been a growing concern for Centrepoint. Separate research we conducted using data from our Helpline found that around 1 in 10 calls involve a young person being wrongly turned away or refused an assessment by their local authority.
The problem varies across regions. Some regions have particularly low assessment rates, such as the South West, where less than half (48%) of young people who present as being homeless or risk of homelessness are assessed by their local councils. Other regions, such as the North West and West Midlands only assess about half of young people (53 per cent and 57 per cent respectively), with the North West having the highest rate of youth homelessness in England (23 of every 1,000 young person) and the greatest increase in youth homelessness in the past year (41%).
The devolved nations: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Across the rest of the UK, youth homelessness either increased or remained the same.
Scotland saw a 2 per cent rise in young people facing homelessness with 7,604 young people reported. Wales recorded an 8 per cent increase, with 5,856 young people reaching out for support. Northern Ireland’s figures remained unchanged, at 2,889 young people.
Across all nations, services reported the same pressures: housing shortages, stretched local authority teams, and more complex needs among young people seeking help.
What is driving youth homelessness?
MHCLG figures revealed that the leading causes in 2024–25 were family and friends being no longer willing or able to accommodate, domestic abuse, eviction from supported housing, the end of a private tenancy, and having to leave Home Office accommodation.
- Family and friends being no longer willing or able to accommodate (29,830, 51%)
- Domestic abuse (6,420, 11%)
- Evicted from supported housing (4,300, 7%)
- End of Assured Shorthold Tenancy (3,950, 7%)
- Required to leave accommodation provided by Home Office as asylum support (3,570, 6%)
Family breakdown
Family and friends being no longer willing or able to accommodate remains the single biggest driver, and previous Centrepoint research has explored the ways family breakdown can lead to homelessness for young people. Frontline staff told us they are seeing more cases linked to financial pressure at home, overcrowding, and young people unable to afford to move out.
As one local authority housing manager told us:
“You've got parents with kids who are struggling to move out because of the expense of doing so and frustrations and family breakdowns.”
For many LGBTQIA+ young people, family breakdown is tied to rejection, conflict and sometimes abuse after coming out.
“I pretty much got kicked out of my mom's place… They don’t really take it seriously enough until you have nowhere to go.”- Ari, young person, North of England
Domestic abuse
Domestic abuse is the second most common trigger, making up 11% of the young people who had prevention or relief support. This abuse may be physical, emotional, financial or “honour-based”.
As domestic abuse often overlaps with family breakdowns, the true number of young people affected may be even larger than recorded. In fact, our recent research found around half of young people experiencing homelessness had faced abuse from a parent or carer.
Young refugees forced into homelessness
A growing number of young people are becoming homeless after being granted refugee status and told to leave Home Office accommodation within 28 days.
Harry, 21, fled Sudan and was placed in a hotel while his asylum claim was processed. Soon after receiving status, he was required to leave before he had found anywhere to live.
“I was in a hotel, and they evicted me.”
Harry ended up sleeping in parks before contacting Centrepoint’s Helpline. He was supported into safe accommodation, healthcare and ESOL classes so he could begin rebuilding his life.
What needs to change
Based on our findings this year, we recommend:
- Improve data availability and quality on youth homelessness.
- The Government should undertake a formal review into youth homelessness assessment rates by councils in England.
- The Government’s new Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people should be grounded in the lived experiences of young people and draw on the expertise of the youth homelessness sector.
- The Government should provide sufficient funding to local authorities in England to ensure that all young people who report to homelessness support services receive an assessment and support if required.
- Increased supply of social housing that is suitable for young people. This should include a commitment to prioritising the development of one-bedroom social homes within its wider housing development planning.
- Local authority housing staff should receive mandatory training on domestic abuse risk assessment.
- The Government should permanently extend the move-on period for newly recognised refugees from 28 days to 56 days, in line with the recent Home Office trial.
The Youth Homelessness Databank remains the clearest picture we have of what young people are facing across the UK. But behind every number is a young person like Ari or Harry, trying to find safety and stability.
Will you tell your MP about this?
We want as many MPs as possible to advocate on behalf of the thousands of young people facing homelessness each year. Will you email your MP today and ask them to advocate on behalf of young people and make sure no young person is left out from the support they deserve?
It only takes two minutes, and every email makes a huge difference to our campaign.
