In the Atlas, accommodation refers to hostels and supported housing. These are usually provided by the voluntary sector and commissioned by local authorities. They form the main accommodation response for people without dependent children experiencing homelessness in England. There are no agreed definitions of hostels or supported housing, and the nature of provision varies. Typically, hostels and supported housing consist of private bedrooms with shared communal areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and living spaces; or rooms with en suite bathrooms alongside shared facilities. Some services operate within a single building, while others are spread across multiple sites. Support may include help with benefits, activities, and planning for move-on to independent or longer-term accommodation. Some accommodation is targeted at people with additional support needs, such as those with long-term experience of homelessness or problematic alcohol use. Most spaces are accessed via referral to the local authority, although in some cases, other organisations or individuals can make referrals. "Units" refers to the number of accommodation spaces available within a project or area.
These provide short-term emergency accommodation while a person's onward options are assessed. Services include borough-specific projects, a sub-regional service for North London, and GLA-commissioned schemes such as No Second Night Out hubs and Staging Post services.
The Clearing House offers social rented supported housing in London for people with a history of rough sleeping. Properties are self-contained one-bed or studio flats provided by housing associations. Support is delivered by Tenancy Sustainment Teams (TSTs) through floating support. This partnership involves around 50 housing associations, two TSTs, and over 30 referring organisations. It is coordinated by the Clearing House team at St Mungo's on behalf of the GLA.
Night or winter shelters offer basic overnight accommodation for people at risk of rough sleeping. These range from communal sleeping spaces, often with separate areas for women, to individual rooms or small shared rooms. Shelters often provide food, access to toiletries, and housing advice. Some operate all year round, while others open only during colder months. Covid-19 changed the model of provision significantly, with a move away from communal sleeping towards self-contained rooms. Shelter staffing models vary, often relying on volunteers. The Atlas reflects the number of spaces available, not operational changes over time.
First included in the 2024/25 data collection, these services provide supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 25. This includes care leavers, unaccompanied asylum seekers, and young people who have experienced or are at risk of rough sleeping. This provision plays a key role in prevention.
The Atlas focuses on services for people sleeping rough or at risk of rough sleeping who do not have dependent children. These services are often called "single homelessness services." While not used as a formal label in the Atlas, the term appears in some source materials. Couples without children generally access single homelessness services, though joint accommodation options are limited. Most provision is designed for individuals, though some services are flexible in accommodating couples. Households with children use other services not included in the Atlas. While many services in the Atlas focus on people with experience of rough sleeping, the homelessness sector increasingly works to prevent rough sleeping as well as alleviate it.
The definition used by CHAIN and MHCLG includes people sleeping or preparing to sleep in the open air, such as streets, parks, tents and doorways, and those in buildings or places not designed for habitation, such as stairwells, sheds, cars or stations. It excludes people in hostels, shelters, campsites, squats or recreational/protest sites. "Bedded down" means lying down or sleeping, while "about to bed down" includes sitting near or on bedding.
The GLA commissions a range of pan-London services as part of the Life Off the Streets programme. This includes CHAIN, the Clearing House, and the Rapid Response Team.
There are 33 local authorities in London. Services in the Atlas are usually identified by their location within a specific borough; however, there are exceptions where a local authority commissions a service outside of the borough.
CHAIN is a multi-agency database that tracks contacts with people sleeping rough or part of the wider street population in London. It is managed by Homeless Link and funded by the GLA. CHAIN enables services to share information, support coordinated working, and avoid duplication. Data from CHAIN informs both operational practice and strategic planning. Reports are published on the GLA website.
Day centres provide daytime shelter, basic facilities (such as food, hot drinks, showers, laundry and internet) and a wide range of support services. These may include casework, housing advice, education, training and employment support, and health services. They often work in partnership with local authorities and other services to prevent or relieve homelessness. Some food-focused services that are less integrated with statutory provision are not included in the Atlas.
Outreach services in the Atlas are commissioned by local authorities or the GLA and focus on rough sleeping. Teams work day and night to contact people sleeping rough. The Mayor's Rapid Response Team targets new rough sleepers, freeing up local teams to focus on ongoing cases.
Some services operate across multiple boroughs or all of London. These are marked as "pan-London" in the Atlas and are often commissioned by the GLA, such as the Rapid Response Team and Turnaround Hubs.
These include clinical services and access projects focused on healthcare for people rough sleeping or at risk. Examples include Groundswell’s Peer Advocacy and hospital discharge schemes with multi-disciplinary teams. Only services with a specific focus on health interventions for people experiencing homelessness are included.