For young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, moving on into long-term, safe and affordable housing remains one of the biggest challenges they face. New evidence shows that for many, that challenge is growing.
Our 2024/25 Move On report builds on last year’s baseline to examine how accessible and affordable housing is for young people today.
This commissioned analysis by WPI Economics combines national data, a survey of young renters, and Freedom of Information requests to paint a picture of the barriers to moving on from homelessness.
Demand is higher than supply for social housing
The good news: there has been some progress since last year for social housing support. The gap identified last year between young people owed housing support and those actually receiving social housing has closed.
In 2024/25, young households accounted for 14% of those owed the main homelessness duty and over 17% of social housing allocations.
However, this progress masks a deeper problem: demand still outstrips supply. Around 130,000 young households were on housing registers.
At today’s rate of allocation, and assuming no new applications, it would take more than six years to clear the backlog.
For young people trying to move on from the cycle of homelessness, that wait is simply too long.
At today’s rate of allocation, and assuming no new applications, it would take more than six years to clear the social housing backlog.
Multiple barriers in the private rented sector
For many young people, the private rented sector (PRS) is the most immediate route out of homelessness. Yet it remains fraught with challenges:
- One in three young people reported experiencing discrimination from landlords or letting agents.
- At the same time, the type of housing many rely on - Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) - became less available.
- In 2024/25 there were 458,000 HMOs in England, a 10% drop since 2019/20.
With fewer affordable options and persistent barriers to access, the PRS is increasingly out of reach.
Rising reliance on temporary accommodation
When stable housing isn’t available, young people are left stuck in temporary accommodation and often for longer periods.
In 2024/25, 12,390 young households were living in temporary accommodation, up from 11,840 the previous year.
Behind these numbers are young people in limbo, unable to move forward with education, employment, or independence.
Why this matters
Safe, stable housing is the foundation for everything else in a young person’s life. Without it, the risk of repeated homelessness, poor mental health, and long-term disadvantage increases.
This year’s findings highlight a system under pressure. While there are signs of improvement in some areas, structural issues limited social housing supply, barriers in the private rented sector, and growing reliance on temporary accommodation continue to hold young people back.
What needs to change
Addressing these challenges requires coordinated action. This includes increasing the supply of genuinely affordable housing, tackling discrimination in the private rented sector, and reforming planning policy to enable charities to develop income-linked Stepping Stone accommodation, and ensuring that young people are not left waiting years for a place to call home.
As we move into the final year of this research, one thing is clear: without urgent action, too many young people facing homelessness will remain excluded from stable housing and the opportunity to move forward with their lives.
This research has been funded by Nationwide as part of their Fairer Futures strategy. Centrepoint would like to express gratitude to Nationwide for funding this research to aid understanding of how move on for young people experiencing homelessness changes. We are grateful to WPI Economics, who were commissioned by Centrepoint to undertake the analysis that underpins this report.
