Tower Hamlets and Newham lead London in homelessness rise by 2026

Key points

• Tower Hamlets recorded the sharpest rise in homelessness applications linked to relationship breakdown, with numbers soaring by 712.5 per cent between 2020 and 2025.
• Newham had the highest overall number of such applications in London, with 2,031 over the same five‑year period.
• The data comes from a study by law firm Rayden Solicitors, which analysed homelessness applications in 91 local authorities across England and Wales.
• In London, the total number of applications where relationship breakdown was recorded as the primary cause rose by 20 per cent to 8,795 between 2020 and 2025.
• Other London boroughs with high volumes included Havering (1,069), Southwark (892), Hillingdon (537), Haringey (490), Greenwich (462), Sutton (415), Westminster (415), Enfield (397) and Croydon (349).
• After Tower Hamlets, Croydon saw a 513.79 per cent increase, Greenwich a 219.15 per cent rise, Hillingdon an 181.93 per cent climb and Islington a 130.77 per cent increase.
• Legal experts at Rayden Solicitors warn that cohabiting couples have far fewer automatic protections than married or civil‑partnered couples when relationships end, leaving the financially weaker partner—often a woman—especially vulnerable to housing instability and homelessness.

Tower Hamlets (East London Times) April 20, 2026London boroughs with the biggest increases in homelessness driven by relationship breakdown have been identified in new research, with Tower Hamlets recording the sharpest rise and Newham topping the capital for the highest overall number of cases. The analysis, carried out by law firm Rayden Solicitors, examined homelessness applications in 91 local authorities across England and Wales between 2020 and 2025, focusing on instances where relationship breakdown was listed as the primary cause of homelessness.

As reported by journalists at Yahoo News in their coverage of the study, Tower Hamlets saw homelessness applications linked to relationship breakdown jump by 712.5 per cent over the five‑year period, from a small base of 8 applications in 2020 to 65 in 2025. In the same article, the same outlets note that Newham recorded 2,031 such applications, the highest volume of any London borough during that timeframe.

What do the overall London figures show?

The research finds that across London as a whole, the number of homelessness applications where relationship breakdown was recorded as the main reason rose by 20 per cent between 2020 and 2025, reaching 8,795 cases.

According to a report by Inside Housing summarising the Rayden Solicitors data, although London does not have the highest total number of such cases compared with some regions such as the North West or Wales, the scale of the increase and the concentration of cases in individual boroughs have raised policy concerns.

The study also highlights that while the East of England saw the largest proportional jump nationally (185 per cent), London’s 20 per cent rise is notable given the capital’s housing pressures and population density. In London, several boroughs stand out not only for high totals but for exceptionally sharp percentage increases, which the analysis attributes in part to rising numbers of cohabiting couples and gaps in legal protection when relationships end.

Why has Tower Hamlets seen such a dramatic rise?

According to the Rayden Solicitors breakdown, Tower Hamlets recorded the largest percentage increase in homelessness applications tied to relationship breakdown, up 712.5 per cent between 2020 and 2025.

Writers at Yahoo News underline that this surge—while from a relatively low starting point—reflects both demographic and housing‑market pressures in a borough where private‑rented housing dominates and affordability is a major constraint.

The firm’s analysis stresses that while the absolute number of cases in Tower Hamlets remains lower than in some other boroughs, the rate of growth signals that relationship breakdown is becoming a more visible driver of housing instability in the area.

Which other boroughs saw steep rises?

Following Tower Hamlets, Croydon registered a 513.79 per cent increase in applications, rising from 29 in the earlier years examined to 178 by 2025. Inside Housing notes that Greenwich recorded a 219.15 per cent rise, Hillingdon a 181.93 per cent increase and Islington a 130.77 per cent growth, with all four boroughs now featuring prominently in the capital’s homelessness statistics where relationship breakdown is cited as the main factor.

Alongside these high‑growth areas, the study data, as summarised by Yahoo News, lists Havering (1,069 applications), Southwark (892), Hillingdon (537), Haringey (490), Greenwich (462), Sutton (415), Westminster (415), Enfield (397) and Croydon (349) as among the London boroughs with the largest overall volumes of homelessness applications linked to relationship breakdown.

Why are cohabiting couples particularly at risk?

Rayden Solicitors’ research, detailed in its own blog and picked up by housing and legal outlets, focuses on how relationship breakdown intersects with housing risk, especially for cohabiting couples who are not married or in civil partnerships. The firm points out that cohabiting families now make up 17.7 per cent of all families in the UK, and that the number of couples living together outside marriage has risen by 144 per cent between 1996 and 2021.

Kayleigh Biswas‑Gregory, senior associate at Rayden Solicitors, is quoted in the firm’s study and in subsequent media coverage saying: 

“While this data captures relationship breakdown more broadly, it highlights a wider housing risk that many couples face when relationships end. It is a common misconception that unmarried couples have the same financial rights against each other on the breakdown of the relationship as married or civil partnered couples do. Sadly, the myth of the ‘common law marriage’ is just that, a myth, and cohabiting couples’ rights are, in fact, very different.”

What legal protections do married couples have that cohabitees lack?

Lehna Gardiner, partner at Rayden Solicitors, explains, in statements relayed by Inside Housing and the firm’s own commentary, that marriage and civil partnerships trigger a detailed family‑law framework designed to protect both parties and any children.

She notes that on divorce, courts prioritise the needs of the parties and their children and apply principles of equality and fairness, including the division of assets and financial provision.

Gardiner adds that, in the event of a spouse’s death, the surviving spouse has automatic rights to inheritance, pension income and certain insurance benefits. By contrast, she observes that cohabiting couples do not benefit from this statutory framework, and there is no automatic financial responsibility on separation. As she is quoted saying: 

“This specifically leaves the financially weaker party in a vulnerable position in the event of a break‑up. Often, these are women who have focused less on their careers in order to look after children. Cohabiting couples cannot rely on the family law framework and have no financial responsibility to one another on separation.”

How can cohabiting couples reduce their housing risk?

Rayden Solicitors’ analysis, as reported by Inside Housing and summarised in the firm’s own communications, recommends several practical measures for cohabiting couples to mitigate the risk of homelessness following a relationship breakdown.

The firm advises that property ownership arrangements should clearly reflect both parties’ intentions, particularly where homes are purchased jointly or one partner contributes towards a property held in the other’s name.

The solicitors also urge couples to draft a cohabitation agreement that covers finances, housing and child arrangements, and to keep wills up to date so that partners and children are not left without clear legal protections if one party dies unexpectedly. These steps, the firm stresses, are interim measures until wider legal reforms are introduced.

Background: Cohabitation, housing and the law in London

The latest Rayden Solicitors study builds on existing concerns about how changing family structures have outpaced the current legal framework. Over recent decades, more couples have chosen to live together without marrying, leading to a marked rise in the proportion of cohabiting families, yet the law has not added the same automatic financial and housing protections that apply to married or civil‑partnered couples.

At the same time, London has faced persistent housing shortages, high rents and a growing reliance on private‑sector tenancies, which make it harder for individuals to secure alternative accommodation when a shared home becomes unavailable.

Within this context, relationship breakdown—in particular where one partner has been financially dependent or where rental agreements are not in both names—can quickly translate into a homelessness application, especially in boroughs such as Tower Hamlets, Newham and Croydon where demand for social housing far exceeds supply.

Policy‑makers and housing charities have repeatedly highlighted that families experiencing relationship breakdown often fall through the cracks of both family‑law and housing‑support systems, particularly where they are cohabiting rather than married. The Rayden data now provide a more granular picture of which London boroughs are most affected and how quickly the situation has worsened over the past five years.

Prediction: How this trend might affect Londoners, especially cohabiting couples

If current trends continue and no major legal reforms are introduced, homelessness linked to relationship breakdown could become an even more prominent feature of London’s housing crisis, particularly in boroughs already under severe pressure such as Tower Hamlets, Newham and Croydon. Cohabiting couples—especially women who have reduced paid work to care for children—may find themselves repeatedly at risk of losing their homes when relationships end, since they lack the financial and property safeguards that apply to married or civil‑partnered couples.

For local councils, the rising number of such applications may strain homelessness‑prevention budgets and increase reliance on temporary accommodation, shared housing and out‑of‑London placements as permanent options remain scarce. At the same time, legal experts and housing advocates are likely to intensify calls for cohabitation‑law reform and clearer public information about the limitations of “common‑law marriage,” which could, over time, reduce the number of people who assume they are automatically protected when they are not.