While it is encouraging that more people are moving into long-term accommodation and fewer people are living in temporary accommodation than a year ago, it remains deeply concerning that more than 10,000 people are still living in temporary accommodation and that rough sleeping has increased by 23% over the past year, rising from 131 people in May 2025 to 162 in May 2026.
It is important to remember that rough sleeping is the visible sharp end of homelessness, but as these statistics show, many thousands of people across Wales are experiencing homelessness in less visible ways. While today's statistics are not broken down by age or gender, we know from our experience supporting young people and women across Wales that homelessness is often hidden.
Many young people will initially sofa surf with friends or family before reaching crisis point, meaning they may not appear in rough sleeping figures despite experiencing homelessness. From our experience, young people can then find themselves in increasingly unsuitable situations where they may be at risk of harm or exploitation.
This is why preventing homelessness before a crisis point is so important.
We believe ending homelessness is everyone's responsibility, which is why we welcome Wales' new Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation Act 2026. The legislation places a strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention, principles that are fundamental to the way we work.
The Act sets out an ambition for homelessness in Wales to be rare, brief and unrepeated, while also introducing a wider responsibility on public services to 'Ask and Act' when supporting people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Ending homelessness must start with prevention and early intervention. Research shows that around half of single homeless people first experienced homelessness before the age of 21, with many having experienced care and/or exclusion from school.
This is why services such as Llamau's Upstream Cymru programme and Family Mediation work are so important. By supporting young people and families at an earlier stage, we can prevent homelessness before it happens and reduce the risk of homelessness and rough sleeping later in life.
The report shows that of the 10,282 individuals were in temporary accommodation as of May 2026, the total for under 16-year-olds was 2,219. This figure shows a decrease on the figure reported for May in each of the last three years.
The report also highlights that the number of dependent children in temporary accommodation has remained stable in recent months, with numbers remaining below 2,500 since November 2025. Whilst this is encouraging, we know there isn’t room for complacency and only when we have fully ended homelessness will the full benefits to both the individuals and wider society be unlocked.
We believe it is possible to end homelessness, provided the right services and resources are in place. Alongside increasing access to affordable and social housing, people who have experienced the most adverse life events need access to compassionate, trauma-informed support that helps them build stability and prevents homelessness from recurring.
Today's figures are a reminder that while progress is being made, there is still much more to do. Sustained investment in prevention, housing and support services will be essential if we are to achieve the shared ambition of making homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated across Wales.
