Counties warn of “deepening crisis” in rural homelessness

Warning that homelessness in rural areas is becoming a “deepening crisis”, the CCN said there were more than 116,000 people assessed as homeless in county and rural areas over the last year.

It added that, as a result, its members had had to place record numbers of children and households in temporary accommodation, with these costs becoming one of the fastest-growing financial pressures facing councils in county areas.

The CCN's analysis suggested that councils in county areas spent £124m on temporary accommodation in 2019/20, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, but this rose to £373m in 2024/25.

“This trebling of spend – and a 201% increase – is a faster rate than anywhere else in England,”  the CCN said.

The CCN acknowledged that councils can claim back temporary accommodation, but added that this was capped at 90% of Local Authority Housing Allowance rates.

It warned shortfalls were increasingly met from local authority budgets – “and at a rate set in 2011”.

The CCN meanwhile claimed that virtually all of the money in the first £10bn tranche of the Government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme was being allocated to major cities.

It called on the Government to recognise growing temporary accommodation and rural homelessness numbers as significant issues, alongside urban challenges.

Cllr Andrew Husband, Housing and Planning Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: “More than 23,000 children are now growing up in temporary accommodation across England's counties. That’s enough young people to fill an average sized market town in accommodation that was never designed to be home.

“Homelessness is no longer a big city issue – it is now a deepening crisis in rural areas. I see it first hand in my own large rural county of Durham. Across England's counties record numbers of families are now in temporary accommodation. County and rural unitary councils work tirelessly to support residents at risk of homelessness, but demand is rising far faster than funding and is placing enormous pressure on local budgets.

“If the government is serious about ending homelessness the thousands of people housed in temporary accommodation, they must recognise this is no longer just a city problem. Rural England needs the same attention, investment and, ultimately, a long-term solution.”

Harry Rodd