Shelter blames rising rents for temporary accommodation crisis as NRLA warns of landlord exodus

Landlords selling up is the biggest single reason for tenants losing their homes and needing council support, as Shelter blames rising rents for the temporary accommodation crisis, new data reveals.

According to government statistics, between April and June 2025, 6,700 households in the private rented sector in England qualified for help from their council to prevent homelessness after their landlord decided to sell the property.

This figure is three times higher than the next most common reason for the end of the tenancy.

The statistics also reveal there are now 132,410 households living in temporary accommodation in England, up from 7.6% from the same time last year.

Thousands face a long, grim winter stuck in temporary accommodation

The government statistics reveal a third of households (32%), 42,740, are accommodated in temporary accommodation outside of their home area, up 10% in one year.

London is the worst-affected area in the country. Just under 100,000 children in the city are homeless in temporary accommodation (97,140) and nearly half (46%) of all households (34,280) are accommodated out of area.

In total across England, 2,420 children are now homeless in temporary accommodation, an 8% increase in a year and the highest number since records began 21 years ago.

Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at Shelter, said: “It’s utterly shameful that the number of children homeless could now fill a city the size of Oxford. Thousands face a long, grim winter stuck in temporary accommodation, including freezing bedsits and cramped B&Bs, because successive governments have passed the buck for a housing emergency of their making.

“Every day we hear from families who are terrified of spending months or even years in appalling conditions, watching their breath hang in the air as damp and mould climbs the walls. These conditions are only worsened by bitter isolation, as many are moved miles away from their extended families, schools, and communities.”

In a press release, Shelter is calling on the government to unfreeze LHA rates to “prevent those pushed to the brink by rocketing private rents from becoming homeless.”

The housing charity claims the only way to end homelessness for good is to build 90,000 social homes a year.

Landlords should be encouraged to invest

However, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says rather than punishing landlords with potential tax hikes in the Autumn Budget, they should be encouraged to invest.

Ben Beadle, chief Eexecutive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Every landlord who decides to sell a property leaves renters facing uncertainty about where they will next call home.

“Renters need responsible landlords to stay in the market for the long term, providing the decent quality homes that the vast majority already do.

“The Chancellor must recognise this basic fact and avoid tax hikes which would serve only to exacerbate the housing crisis for millions of renters across the country.”