More than a quarter (27%) of people in the UK say they or someone close to them has experienced housing insecurity in the past five years, according to new research from Better Society Capital (BSC).
Among younger adults aged 18-34, this rises to 47%, highlighting the growing prevalence of housing instability across younger generations in the UK.
Housing insecurity includes experiences such as sofa surfing, the risk of eviction, or time spent in temporary accommodation. Together, the findings suggest that housing insecurity has touched the lives of more than 13.5 million people* across the UK in recent years.
Despite this widespread experience, public understanding of how homelessness is funded and addressed locally remains limited. On average, people believe that 28% of their council tax goes toward homelessness services, which is almost ten times higher than preliminary local authority returns suggest. Half of respondents (52%) say they do not know how much is spent in their area.
Over half of the public surveyed (56%) support the use of public-private partnerships to deliver housing and homelessness services, with just 8% opposed, and emphasise proof of value for money, transparency and local accountability as drivers that would increase their level of support.
Charities and social enterprises are regarded as the most trustworthy organisations to deliver housing and homelessness services effectively with 71% of respondents saying they would trust them to deliver, followed by housing associations (55%) and local authorities (47%).
Similarly, more than half of respondents (52%) said they would be willing to invest a portion of their own savings or pension in products tackling social issues such as homelessness, provided this had little impact on their financial returns.
10% of respondents overall said they would be willing to do so regardless of the impact on returns. With just 0.05% of total UK pension assets currently allocated to social impact investment – an approach to investing that seeks to tackle social issues generating positive social impact alongside financial returns – this suggests significant untapped potential.
These pressures are already being felt by councils. Local authorities responding to the inaugural Better Society Index reported a combined £1.65bn in expenditure on homelessness services in 2024/25, with a median year-on-year increase of 10.62% (mean of 18.57%).
Temporary accommodation continues to be a major driver of costs, with councils recording more than 3,000 people needing housing every night for the last year alone. At the same time, there is wide variation in both spending and demand between areas, with urban councils typically facing higher levels of pressure.
In more than half of local authorities, cost pressures from homelessness services outstrip entire planning and development budgets and are on par with expenditure on highways and transport services.
Table 1: Region by Region Breakdown of Spending Trends (2023/2024 – 2024/2025)
Across the UK, the spending trends across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales suggest an average spending increase 2023/2024 – 2024/2025 of 18.57 per cent. However, regional disparities emerge, as set out in Table 1 below.
| Region/Nation | Regional Average Year on Year Percentage Change in Spending (2023/2024 – 2024/2025)(positive % is an increase, negative % is a decrease) |
| London | 43.67% |
| South East | 32.52% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 28.95% |
| East Midlands | 28.54% |
| North East | 17.50% |
| West Midlands | 15.45% |
| North West | 11.64% |
| East of England | 10.94% |
| Northern Ireland | 9.45% |
| South West | 5.78% |
| Scotland | 4.36% |
| Wales | -2.53% |
Drew Ritchie, Director of Better Society Capital comments: “This data freshly reminds us that homelessness is not a fringe issue. It is a major and pressing concern for both the public and the local councils working on their behalf.
“However, the analysis also highlights an appetite for innovative solutions. A majority of savers and pension holders would like to see their money make a difference.
“Public attitudes to private investment working alongside Government are positive and the public overwhelmingly trusts charities and social enterprises to deliver those services effectively.
“Social investment combines these key ingredients, building partnerships to deliver innovative finance solutions to tackle entrenched social issues and ensuring tax payer money goes further.
“After more than 10 years of investing into housing, we believe that social investment should be a bigger part of the solution to homelessness in the UK.
“The new Office for the Impact Economy in Cabinet Office is well-placed to coordinate efforts and use this insight into public attitudes to unlock impact finance solutions across government.
“We look forward to seeing how their partnership with social investors, philanthropists and responsible-driven business evolves to tackle joint problems.”