More than one in five new rough sleepers in London were previously in asylum accommodation, according to new data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain). Researchers from Chain said that the asylum system remains “a significant route onto the streets of the capital”.
Key findings on rough sleeping and asylum
Of the 4,978 people recorded sleeping rough in London in the year to March, where information on their last settled accommodation was available, 21 per cent – or 1,037 people – had been staying in asylum support accommodation. This represents a 10 per cent increase from the 944 people recorded in the previous 12-month period, and a rise in overall proportion from 18 per cent.
The impact is particularly acute in areas like Hounslow, where rough sleeping surged by over half year-on-year. Researchers said that this dramatic rise “appears to be related to an especially high number of people being seen rough sleeping there after leaving asylum support accommodation”. Hounslow experienced the largest increase across all London boroughs, with a 53 per cent jump from 336 to 513 people sleeping rough in the year to March 2026, an additional 177 people.
Overall rough sleeping figures
Overall, 12,938 people were on the streets of the capital in the year to March. This was down 2 per cent from 13,231 in the previous 12 months. It was also the first year-on-year fall since 2017 when the figure stood at 7,484 – aside from 2021-22 when the number fell by almost a quarter likely because of the government’s Everyone In initiative which took people off the streets during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nationalities of rough sleepers
Figures once again showed a majority of those rough sleeping were not UK nationals, although the proportion who were rose slightly. UK nationals were the single biggest nationality group, making up 49 per cent of all those rough sleeping in the latest 12-month period – an increase from 47 per cent in the previous year.
Almost a fifth (18 per cent) of rough sleepers were from somewhere else in Europe. This fell from 21 per cent in 2024/25 and researchers said the decrease in the overall total “appears to be primarily driven by the reduction in the number of EEA (European Economic Area) nationals”. People whose nationality was recorded as ‘rest of the world’ – covering Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australasia – accounted for 31 per cent of the total rough sleepers.
The most commonly recorded single nationalities, after the UK, were Romanian (6 per cent), Eritrean (6 per cent), Polish (4 per cent), Indian (3 per cent), and Sudanese (3 per cent). Researchers said the higher numbers of people seen sleeping rough from the ‘rest of the world’ category “are at least partially driven by the continuing trend of people experiencing rough sleeping following departure from asylum support accommodation”.
Reactions and policy implications
Campaigners said the first fall in rough sleeping in London for almost a decade – excluding a year during the pandemic – shows local efforts to tackle the issue can work. Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services which manages the Chain data, said the slight fall in the total provides early evidence that devolved approaches can lead to positive change.
Describing the reduction as “extremely encouraging”, Homeless Link’s director of social change, Fiona Colley, said: “The Mayor of London’s Rough Sleeping Plan of Action set out strong proposals for change, and it is working. Just as Andy Burnham is advocating for further devolution and the role of the regions in shaping their own futures, this is early evidence that when committed services are supported by local political leadership and robust policies, positive change is indeed possible. Now London’s efforts must be backed up by action on the national strategy, with all of government held accountable for preventing homelessness.”
London’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has pledged to end rough sleeping in the capital for good by 2030, previously vowing to prioritise prevention by extending a network of homelessness hubs which provide 24/7 support to those most at risk of sleeping rough. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said: “Rough sleeping in London has fallen for the first time in a year unaffected by Covid since 2017. While there is still much to do, a 2 per cent reduction in the number of people seen rough sleeping is clear movement in the right direction. It also shows how the Mayor’s Rough Sleeping Plan of Action, launched last year, is having an impact.”
In 2025, Sir Sadiq’s office said the plan was backed with £17 million secured from Government which would include refurbishing up to 500 empty homes, with the aim of helping hundreds of people at immediate risk of rough sleeping. Despite this year’s fall, the latest figure remains 60 per cent higher than the 12 months to 2017 when there were 8,108 people seen rough sleeping on the capital’s streets.
