New figures show 4,678 people were recorded sleeping rough in London between July and September 2026, according to the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), the database that tracks rough sleeping in the capital.

The total was 1% lower than the same three months in 2025, but 18% higher than the previous quarter. Homeless Link said the figures show how difficult it will be to turn ambitions to end rough sleeping into sustained progress.

First-time rough sleeping rises sharply

Within the total, 2,168 people were recorded sleeping rough for the first time. That was 2% higher than a year earlier and 29% higher than the previous quarter. People sleeping rough for the first time made up 46% of everyone recorded in the quarter.

A further measure, for people classed as living on the streets after repeated contact with outreach teams over three weeks or more, stood at 819. That was 8% higher than the same period last year and 20% higher than the previous quarter.

Charities respond to the figures

Crisis highlighted the same 819 figure and noted that it was 93% higher than five years ago, when emergency measures during the pandemic brought numbers down, and more than double the level recorded ten years ago.

Crisis also reported that 845 women were seen sleeping rough in the quarter, while noting that women are often undercounted because many stay out of public view for safety reasons. Of people who had previously slept rough and moved into accommodation during the quarter, 78% went into hubs, shelters or other temporary accommodation, and 22% moved into settled housing.

The figures arrive as the government and the Mayor of London pursue pledges to reduce rough sleeping, including a commitment to end it in the capital by 2030.