Overview
- Researchers from Hogeschool Utrecht and Kansfonds tallied 28,721 people without stable housing across 57 municipalities, including 24,659 adults and 4,062 children.
- Most counted people are not on the street but staying with friends or family or in non‑conventional spaces such as cars, sheds or mobile homes.
- Homelessness is concentrated in major cities, with rates above 1% in Amsterdam and The Hague and more than 20,000 people lacking stable housing across those two regions.
- About 8% of the total are occupying beds in institutions such as mental health care, youth care or asylum reception, limiting capacity for new clients.
- Utrecht will postpone a local ETHOS count to 2026 and accelerate housing placements; the city also disclosed 11 fines issued this year for sleeping outdoors as services report full shelters but say eligible people have not been turned away, while in Flevoland health and relief agencies warn of more rough sleeping and Urk’s council denies a rise despite reports involving EU labor migrants.