There is a wide range of theories that suggest that homelessness is a result of a few issues below are a few theories and their beliefs on the causes of homelessness: 

Structuralism
This theory believes that homelessness is a result of broad societal strucutres these are ineqaulity, poverty and housing markets. Fitzpatrick et al (2005) suggests it ‘highlights how a lack of affordable housing, welfare cuts, unemployment, job security and neoliberal policies push people away from owning a home and towards homelessness.” This theory emphasises that housing should be a human right that everyone deserves a place to call home.

Individualist Theory 
Another theory behind homelessness is the individualist theory, which suggests that personal factors could be the reason why some people end up homeless. These factors, including trauma, substance issues, and mental illness, could all be reasons why a person has ended up homeless. This was believed for a while in the early homelessness discussions, but has now been criticised due to blaming the victim has been proven not to be the politically or fairest approach. Although this did highlight the effects of mental health and addiction, leading to an increase in services to support those who are suffering (Pleace et al, 2000).

Critical Theory 
This theory argues that homelessness is a product of capitalism, the commodification of housing and uneven urban development (Harvey et al, 2008).It is suggested that housing is treated like some sort of commodity rather than a right. It states that gentrification and urban displacement are root causes of homelessness. The main issue is that the government has failed to protect individuals from vulnerabilities and enabled upper-class people to take advantage of the housing market, enabling them to have power over who deserves a house and who doesn’t.

Intersectionality Theory 
Finally, this theory suggests that homelessness is shaped by gender, race, disability and immigration status (Crenshaw et al,1991). This is seen through data, as in the UK, the majority of homeless people are black, which creates the issue of race being thought of as a primary factor. Alongside this, women are most likely to experience hidden homelessness as they often face higher rates of domestic violence, causing them to be homeless. These suggest that these so-called identities either play a role in homelessness or are just an unfortunate coincidence.

Homelessness has devastating impacts on individuals and society:

Health: Rough sleepers are 10 times more likely to die early. They face high rates of mental illness, respiratory issues, and exposure-related diseases. The average age of death is 43 for men and 41 for women (Office for National Statistics, 2021). This is due to a lack of access to sanitation and healthy food options which are obviously not the priority when you are trying to survive on the streets. 

Violence: Homeless people are 17 times more likely to be victims of violence (Crisis, 2016). Many rough sleepers are most likely to be victims of assault, sexual violence and robbery it is estimated that 1in 3 have reported being hit and kicked whilst sleeping. 

Social Exclusion: It is often that homeless people find themselves stigmatised to be viewed negatively by the public, this can lead to reduced support and even sometimes reduced empathy. This is unfair as everyone deserves to be respected and treated fairly. As well as this due to a lack of address this makes it very difficult to register with a GP or to apply for jobs or benefits.

Education and Employment: Children in temporary accommodation miss out on education, while adults face major barriers to employment (Shelter,2023). Homeless people face barriers to employment due to a lack of housing this means you can't have a bank account so therefore can't be paid. Alongside this, the ability to keep a healthy apperance is a stuggle for the homeless as they lack access to places of sanitation. Without support the cycle of homelessness is extremely difficult to escape as many become stuck in temporary accomodation or end up returning to the streets. 

Social Costs: Emergency healthcare, temporary accommodation, and criminal justice responses cost the UK taxpayer over £1 billion annually. Homelessness tends to cause and increase in the use of emergency healthcare, policing and temporary accomodation costs, the National Audit Office (2017) report " It is estimated that annually the UK governement spend £20,000 - £26,000 per homeless person."

Over 280,000 people are homeless, including over 120,000 children in England this is roughly 1 in every 160 people (Shelter, 2024).

"People sleeping on the street are almost 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence. More than one in three people sleeping rough have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced some other form of violence whilst homeless."(Crisis, 2025)

It is suggested that the average age of death for people who are homeless is 44 for men and 43 for women (Office for National Statistics, 2022). 

The homelessness crisis has esculated so significantly that the English council had to spend £732 million on emergency accommodation which is nearly 80% higher than previous years (Borrett et al, 2025). 

Councils have become reliant on private landlords and hotels for temporary housing, this has led to councils paying above market price meaing that a significant finacial strain has been caused (Stacey et al, 2025). 

 327,000 households appealed to local councils for assistance due to fear of homelessness, this was a record high (Geraghty et al, 2025)

"Homeless people are over nine times more likely to take their own life than the general population." (Crisis, 2025) 

An increase of 164% in sleeping rough since 2010, with an estimated 4,700 sleeping rough in a single night in 2024 that is a 20% increase from the previous year (Barton et al, 2025).

In Decemeber 2024 it is estimated that  127,890 were living in temporary accommodation, this is a 14% increase from 2023 (Gov.UK, 2024).