Wales is in the grip of a housing emergency and nowhere is its human cost of this felt more starkly than in the shocking number of people trapped in temporary accommodation.
Over the past five years, numbers have soared. Families, children and vulnerable people are being forced to live for months — sometimes years — in places never designed to meet their needs. This crisis did not appear overnight. It is the predictable consequence of years of failing to build the social homes Wales desperately needs, colliding with a brutal cost-of-living crisis.
Temporary accommodation numbers triple over five years
Rising numbers mean ever higher costs
The explosion in temporary accommodation isn’t just a story of people being let down by a housing system that’s struggling. It’s also a drain on the financial resources of local authorities across Wales.
In 2020/21, local authorities across Wales spent around £45 million on providing temporary accommodation to homeless households.
By 2024/25, this number had more than doubled, with Shelter Cymru calculating the overall cost at more than £115 million.
The crisis in temporary accommodation is a national emergency that demands national solutions. But its impact is also felt street by street, town by town, in communities across Wales.
Behind every statistic are people in your local area being denied the security and stability of a permanent home. You can use the map below to see the scale of the crisis where you live, then use what you find to contact your elected representatives and urge them to take the steps needed to change this.
Together, we can push for the action needed to ensure everyone in Wales has access to a safe, secure and permanent home.
The human impact of the housing emergency
Behind all these statistics are the lives of real people. People who want nothing more than a permanent home of their own. A space suited to theirs and their families needs.
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Nazia’s Story
Nazia is a single mother and was placed in temporary accommodation with her three children. Nazia’s placement was unsuitable for her young son and how she worried his hyperactivity was upsetting the neighbours. “I am a single mum with three children. I stayed five or six weeks. I didn’t have tv or cartoons for children to…
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Misty’s Story
When Misty was fifteen, she was placed in a woman’s refuge temporary accommodation placement with her mother. This placement was a considerable distance from Misty’s school, which meant she had to take public transport to get there. This was a struggle for Misty, and as a result of this and the impact of temporary accommodation, her attendance fell below 40%. Misty’s first temporary accommodation placement was unsafe. The…
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Gemma’s story
Gemma has two sons and works in a specialized profession. She has been living in temporary accommodation with her youngest son for nearly a year and a half. After leaving a controlling relationship, Gemma and her children initially stayed with a family member. However, it was too overcrowded and Gemma was led to believe she would…
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Our reliance on temporary accommodation is the result of decades of failure to build the homes we need or to provide those living in private rented homes the protections they need from eviction and unaffordable rents.
You can help us change this by joining the Fight for Home today here > .
You can also find out more about the realities of living in temporary accommodation through our joint work with the Bevan Foundation:
Nowhere to call home: Living in temporary accommodation
The impact of temporary accommodation on children and their families
