A record 135,580 households were living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of March, new government figures show.

The total increased by 1.1 per cent during the first three months of 2026 and was 3.6 per cent higher than a year earlier, according to the latest statutory homelessness statistics.

Of those households, 86,460 included children and 49,120 were adult-only households. In total, 177,530 children were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March, a year-on-year increase of 5.2 per cent.

There were some signs of improvement elsewhere in the homelessness system. Between January and March, 83,850 households were assessed as being owed a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness, down 2.1 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The number of households owed a prevention duty rose by 1.8 per cent to 39,200, while the number initially assessed as homeless and owed a relief duty fell by 5.3 per cent to 44,650.

More households also secured accommodation for at least six months when their prevention duty ended. The proportion increased by 3.6 percentage points to 54.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the proportion becoming homeless after a prevention duty fell by 2.4 percentage points to 25 per cent.

Responding to the figures, Homeless Link said the continued rise in families and children living in unsuitable temporary accommodation was deeply concerning.

Fiona Colley, the charity’s director of policy and communications, said it was “heartened to see positive signs in other parts of the system”, including improved prevention outcomes.

However, Homeless Link called for a coordinated, cross-government effort to prevent and end all forms of homelessness. It wants ministers to establish a taskforce and move funding away from a patchwork of crisis interventions towards a sustainable model based on prevention and long-term support.