OLDER people need solutions to the housing crisis now, poverty campaigners warned today after official data revealed a record number of older households facing homelessness.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said that there were 16,440 older households who do not have a permanent, stable place to live.

Department figures showed overall temporary accommodation numbers in England have reached a new record, following a slight fall at the end of last year.

A total of 135,580 households were in this situation at the end of March, including 177,530 children as housing charity Shelter warned this was the 18th consecutive quarterly rise in child homelessness.

Independent Age, a charity helping people facing financial struggles in later life, demanded Prime Minister Andy Burnham take action immediately, “not just in the future.”

Mr Burnham pledged to “finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK at the earliest opportunity” as one of his first promises upon entering Downing Street.

The figures are the first since Mr Burnham took office, although they cover a period when his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer was prime minister.

Independent Age director of policy Morgan Vine said she welcomed the PM’s commitment to tackle rough sleeping and build more social housing.

“The growing number of older private renters, one third of whom are in poverty after housing costs, don’t have time to wait,” she said.

“If the Prime Minister wants to tackle the root causes of homelessness now for people of all ages, including older private renters, uprating Local Housing Allowance must be part of the solution in the upcoming budget.

“Local Housing Allowance has been frozen since April 2024, but since then, rents have risen by 11.7 per cent. We know that rents being unaffordable is a leading cause of homelessness.”