Everyone deserves a place to live
We've followed the evidence to find out what's really needed
Not just for today, but longer term and for good

Everybody In: How to end homelessness in Great Britain

In 21st century Britain, everybody should have a place to live. We need to get Everybody In to end homelessness.

Read the full plan here

How we made the plan

We've used the best insight from at home and abroad to show how we can end homelessness for good

Read the full plan here
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How we made the plan

The plan was created using

Widescale review of the best evidence worldwide
New research from leading academics and organisations
1,000+ experts consulted on solutions
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How we made the plan

Background

We all deserve a safe, stable place to live. But we are not protecting this basic human need for 236,000 people in Britain experiencing the worst forms of homelessness.

Read the full plan here
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Background

People lose their homes when the constant pressure from housing and living costs builds up and gets too much
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Cardboard City in London in the early 1990s, before concerted government efforts reduced homelessness

Background

Without government support, a sudden increase in pressure like losing a job or becoming ill can quickly force people into homelessness.
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All data from Figure 2.1 and 2.2 in Chapter 2 'Public policy and homelessness'. Eng: Shows the rise in homelessness acceptances following The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act (1977); Sco: Shows Scottish Government rough sleeping statistics as priority need was abolished over the decade; Wal: Shows more households having their homelessness prevented and relieved following new duties in The Housing (Wales) Act 2014.

Background

Over time, the policy choices that affect these pressures have made homelessness go up and down
From 1977 onwards, homeless families in England were entitled to housing for the first timeEngland, 1970s/80s Rough sleeping fell to just over 1,000 people in Scotland as barriers to support were scrappedScotland, 2000s A focus on preventing homelessness has led to more people being eligible for support Wales, 2010s
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Projected number of households experiencing the worst forms of homelessness in Great Britain over 25 years

Background

If we don't change our approach, thousands more will be left without a place to live Homelessness is predicted to almost double in the next 25 years 2016 158,400 2021 161,800 2026 186,600 2031 214,100 2036 249,300 2041 314,800
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Accommodation for homeless people in a Housing First project run by the Y-Foundation in Finland, where rough sleeping has virtually been ended

Background

It doesn't have to be like this. With political choices based on what has worked at home and abroad, we can end homelessness. This plan offers politicians bold solutions.

  • What ending homelessness means

    What ending homelessness means

    Outlining what this plan will achieve

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  • Somewhere stable to live

    Somewhere stable to live

    Helping everyone who is homeless now

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  • Help to keep a home

    Help to keep a home

    Making sure people have the right support when they need it

    Read more

  • Preventing homelessness

    Preventing homelessness

    Doing all we can to stop people losing their homes

    Read more

  • What it'll take

    What it'll take

    Showing how to make this a reality

    Read more

  • Everybody In

    Everybody In

    How you can help us end homelessness

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  • Where we're up to

    Where we're up to

    Progress in England, Scotland and Wales

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What ending homelessness means

Ending homelessness doesn't mean no-one will ever lose their home again. It means it rarely happens and there's a quick solution when it does.

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What ending homelessness means

This plan sets out to make sure that everyone has somewhere stable to live, so that nobody is left somewhere insecure, unsafe or at worst on the streets
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What ending homelessness means

"My one wish would be a house. I know if I have a room or a flat the rest won’t matter. With a normal place and normal people I know I could then find a job."
Jo
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What ending homelessness means

It shows how to make sure everyone has the means to stay in their home, with the right mix of support that works for them
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What ending homelessness means

"I was living in private accommodation and I was also on Housing Benefit, but that didn’t cover the shortfall in the rent, so I got into arrears and I was told I was going to be evicted."
Florence
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What ending homelessness means

And it shows that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it
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What ending homelessness means

"I got released from prison a week ago. There wasn’t any advice about housing or anything like that. There was no help. They never said anything to me. They just let me out. I’ve been on the street ever since."
Christopher

Getting everyone somewhere stable to live

Anyone homeless now needs a safe, stable place to live

Read the full plan here
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Somewhere stable to live

All people experiencing homelessness in Britain should be entitled to help, whatever their background
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*Not her real name

Somewhere stable to live

"We're in temporary accommodation but still have very little money and no bank account. I’m just hoping to get my national insurance number soon - then I can get a job to take care of my parents." 
Sameera*
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Somewhere stable to live

We need to quickly identify everyone sleeping rough and help them for as long as it takes to find a home
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Somewhere stable to live

Some people will only need a helping hand, like assistance with a deposit, to move into a home
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Somewhere stable to live

For those that need a lot of support, Housing First is a proven approach

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Somewhere stable to live

Emergency accommodation must never be the long-term answer for someone who is homeless
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100,500 social homes need to be built each year for the next 15 years to meet the needs of homeless people and people in Britain on low incomes

Somewhere stable to live

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Somewhere stable to live

Changes needed to get everyone a stable home include:

Everyone to be able to access help, including scrapping priority need criteria in England and Wales

A time-limit on the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation

100,500 new social homes each year across Great Britain for the next 15 years

Helping people keep their homes

We need to make sure everyone has the means or support to keep their home

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Help to keep a home

We need to reduce the pressure that high rents and insufficient benefits put on people
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Shows the monthly gap between Local Housing Allowance rates and the average rent for a two-bed property by area. For example, in Birmingham you would need to find £60.20 by other means to access the rental market; in Inner North London, you would need £126.16. This is a significant barrier to finding and keeping a home.  

Help to keep a home

London York Cardiff Birmingham Edinburgh That means making sure welfare truly covers the cost of housing Housing benefit doesn't cover local rents in most of the country – these areas have some of the biggest gaps
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Help to keep a home

It means more protection for people renting their homes
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Help to keep a home

And it means making sure people have the right support, whenever they need it. That could be help finding a job and keeping on top of bills or support to feel mentally and physically well.
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Help to keep a home

Changes needed to help people keep their homes include:

Housing Benefit that cover the cost of housing and reflects projected rent rises

Integrated employment and housing support for homeless people

Funding for Help to Rent schemes to make it easier for people to move into and keep their homes

Preventing homelessness

The best way to end homelessness is to stop it happening in the first place

Read the full plan here
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If best practice in preventing homelessness was adopted by all local authorities throughout Great Britain, tens of thousands fewer households would become homeless each year. See Chapter 5 'Homelessness projections'

Preventing homelessness

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Public bodies such as hospitals, police and job centres can often be the first to be aware somebody is at risk of homelessness

Preventing homelessness

If someone is at risk of losing their home, councils and all relevant organisations must do everything they can to keep them housed
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Preventing homelessness

That means they need enough government funding to step in when they need to
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Preventing homelessness

"I went to the housing officer and told them my situation, but they said because I was in full-time work they couldn’t help me. I explained that I just needed help with the deposit, but they said there was nothing they could do."
Adam
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Preventing homelessness

We also need to make sure no-one leaves a state institution without a safe, stable place to live

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Preventing homelessness

Changes needed to prevent homelessness include:

A duty on local authorities in Scotland to prevent homelessness

A wider duty on other public bodies in each nation of Great Britain to prevent homelessness

Funding of Critical Time Interventions, an evidence-based approach that helps people at most risk of homelessness

What it'll take

We know the costs and benefits of helping homeless people

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What it'll take

With the right policies in place, we can get everybody into a stable home within ten years
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What it'll take

We'll need to make sure we're tracking progress accurately
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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP have estimated that the total costs of supporting homeless people in our five definitions of ending homelessness between 2018 and 2041 is £19,289m and will deliver benefits of £53,908m. These are in Present Value terms at 2017 prices and apply to the specific solutions costed in their model.

What it'll take

We'll need money – but we'll be saving money too By 2041 the most targeted policies in the plan would cost £19.3bn … and will deliver benefits of £53.9bn …
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What it'll take

But more importantly, ending homelessness is simply the right thing to do

Everybody In

We know we can end homelessness. But we need Everybody In to make it happen. Are you in?

Read the full plan here
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Everybody In

Our plan shows how we can end homelessness. Now we need to make it happen. Are you in to end homelessness? Join our Everybody In campaign, let us know why and ask your local politician to do the same.
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Everybody In

Adar
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Everybody In

15,923 people have already said they’re in to #EndHomelessness. Are you in?

Where we're up to

There's never been more focus on ending homelessness in Britain. Progress is being made all the time.

Read the full plan here
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Where we're up to

Click the tabs for the latest progress in England, Scotland and Wales:

A government commitment to end rough sleeping by 2027, with a strategy set to be delivered by the new Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce

A £30 million fund for councils with high levels of rough sleeping and £28 million for three regional Housing First pilots

The Homelessness Reduction Act was implemented in 2018, ensuring that thousands more people get support they need to prevent and end their homelessness

Recent progress in Scotland includes:

The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group being established by the Scottish Government to look at transformational change across the country

A £50 million Ending Homelessness Together fund to support the group’s recommendations

A Scottish Government commitment to build at least 50,000 affordable homes by 2021, including 35,000 social homes

Recent progress in Wales includes:

New prevention duties on local councils to help anyone who is under threat of homelessness or to relieve the situation for people already homeless

National Housing First principles for Wales being established, with funding to pilot the approach across the country

A Welsh Government committment to end youth homelessness within ten years (by 2027).

English / Cymraeg