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How many toddlers and babies are living in temporary accommodation in the UK?
The government does not publish data on the numbers of young children in temporary accommodation, despite evidence that it has highly damaging impacts on child development and well-being. This live data dashboard uses Freedom of Information requests to track the numbers of under-fives living in temporary accommodation and B&Bs. Katharine Swindells reports
Inside Housing’s live data dashboard uses Freedom of Information requests to track the numbers of children under five living in temporary accommodation and B&Bs #UKhousingInside Housing has reported widely on the damaging impact that living in temporary accommodation has on toddlers and babies, particularly those living in hotels and B&B accommodation.
While the government does collect and publish the numbers of children overall in temporary accommodation, local authorities are not required to differentiate between a teenager and a baby.
Our dataset, below, fills in that information gap.
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Inside Housing filed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every local authority in the UK requesting details of households with children aged under five living in temporary accommodation. Keep reading to see the latest data on under-fives living in temporary accommodation, broken down by local authorities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Where in the UK has the highest number of toddlers and babies in temporary accommodation and B&Bs?
These calculations are correct as of July 2025, with data referring to March 2025.
The table below can be used to explore the numbers of families with young children in temporary accommodation and B&B accommodation in local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.
Click the table headings to sort the numbers by different factors.
What it’s like to raise children in temporary accommodation
Amy (whose name has been changed) wrote anonymously to Inside Housing to share her experience. She, her partner and their two children live in one room, which has damp and black mould. Her older child has asthma, and her baby has a complex heart condition.
“The mould is even in the carpets and is ruining all of our personal items. Both my children are constantly getting colds and chest infections since living in this accommodation,” Amy says.
Her baby is receiving treatment for a lung condition, which the hospital believes is related to the damp and mould in the home.
“Even though my youngest child is also registered disabled, I was told by my housing team that it doesn’t make a difference and we won’t get a property any quicker. We just have to wait.”
Amy dreams of getting a social home where her older child can have their own room, and her family can visit – “somewhere we can call home without curfews or restrictions”.
She says: “Living in this situation is seriously affecting not only my children’s health, but massively affecting my mental health. I want to be the happy mother that my children deserve.”
How long are young children stuck in temporary accommodation?
Increasingly, families are stuck in temporary accommodation for weeks or even months on end. Inside Housing analysed the FOI data to find out what percentage of families with young children had been in temporary accommodation for a long period of time.
It is illegal to place families with children in B&B accommodation – sharing bathrooms or kitchen facilities with other households – for more than six weeks.
Some local authorities are quicker to move families on from B&B temporary accommodation than others. The table below includes all local authorities where the number of households with children aged under five in temporary accommodation totals more than 50.
Where are numbers of under-fives in temporary accommodation rising?
As temporary accommodation numbers continue to rise across the country, in many places, the number of families with young children in this situation is rising, too.
Many local authorities have seen temporary accommodation usage climb significantly in recent times, leaving them scrambling to find suitable housing. The table below includes all local authorities where the number of households with children younger than five years old in temporary accommodation totals more than 50.
Which UK local authorities record data on young children in temporary accommodation?
A quarter of local authorities do not collect or refused to provide data on the numbers of households with under-fives in temporary accommodation. The map shows which local authorities provided the data.
Among the local authorities that said they do not collect or were unable to provide the data were some that have among the country’s highest levels of temporary accommodation usage.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive also said it could not provide the data, as it “does not hold the information in the format requested” and directed Inside Housing to view its public datasets.
A Housing Executive spokesperson said: “We may not use the same methods and systems for data collection and reporting as other jurisdictions and therefore we are unable to provide a like-for-like comparison for any dataset.
“The Department for Communities website contains some information on numbers of children in temporary accommodation at a given point in time, as we referenced in our response to the Freedom of Information request.”
Methodology
Inside Housing filed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every local authority in the UK requesting details of households with children aged under five living in temporary accommodation, and to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which is responsible for homelessness in the jurisdiction. The national estimates were calculated by cross referencing the FOI data with the most recent public government data on the numbers of households with children (of all ages) in temporary accommodation.
This data was last updated in July 2025 to add the quarterly data for March 2025.
This data is based on FOI requests, so is subject to human error. If you spot a mistake, please email kath.swindells@insidehousing.co.uk
Further reading
Inside Housing has spent countless hours and words explaining the impact these living conditions have on the well-being and development of children. Read some of our reporting here:
No crib for a bed: the homeless babies at risk from a lack of safe cots
Invisible children: how poor conditions in temporary accommodation are damaging young lives
The doctor-turned-campaigner for homeless children
The legal loophole that leaves thousands of children in hostels, but not recorded in official data
The office-to-residential conversions which have become slum housing
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