Rough sleeping in Exeter hits 15-year high as numbers nearly double

Rough sleeping in Exeter has reached its highest level in 15 years, with the number of people living on the streets nearly doubling over the past year, according to new figures. 

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reported that 51 people were sleeping rough in the city on the night of 12 November 2025, the largest number recorded since the annual “snapshot” count began in 2010. 

Exeter now ranks among the top five local authorities in England for rough sleeping, with an estimated 36.8 people per 100,000 population living on the streets.

Part of the increase is linked to a change in the counting methodology. Exeter City Council worked with partner organisations including St Petrock’s, Julian House, CoLab Women, and Homeless Link to combine a physical count on the night with intelligence from frontline services, rather than relying solely on the overnight tally as in previous years. 

A council spokesperson said, “During the annual count in November 2025, using our usual (physical) count we identified 28 individuals rough sleeping on the night.” 

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“We also used an intelligence-led method which added 23 individuals who were not seen sleeping rough on the actual night of the count but are known by local services to have recently slept rough in Exeter.” 

“This gave a total estimate of 51 individuals. Whilst this figure is an estimate, we agree with the ‘Green’ rating given by Homeless Link that Exeter’s snapshot this year is likely to be a more accurate reflection of the extent of rough sleeping in Exeter.”

The council also highlighted that rough sleeping is monitored year-round and that most individuals sleep rough for only one night. 

Monthly intelligence figures for 2025 show single-night counts fluctuating from 12 in May, 24 in June, 20 in July, 11 in August, 27 in September, to 16 in October. 

The council added, “Alongside the snapshot count undertaken each year we also use the intelligence-led approach to collect rough sleeping data from local providers each month; this enables us to keep track of trends over time. From this data we know that most people who sleep rough do so for one night only.”

Local homelessness charity St Petrock’s welcomed the change in methodology but stressed that demand for its services has steadily increased. 

Chief executive Peter Stephenson said, “For some years we have had concerns that Exeter City Council continued to rely on physically counting the numbers of rough sleepers for the annual snapshot when agencies such as ourselves… knew that there were many others who were rough sleeping but not counted.”

“This was either because they weren’t seen by the counting teams, or they weren’t bedded down or about to bed down when they were seen.” He added, 

“Much of this increase is simply down to changing to a more accurate methodology. That said, St Petrock’s best estimate on the night of the 2024 count was 24, so last November’s official estimate still shows a significant increase in the number of rough sleepers over the past year.” 

“The key thing for me is that now we have a more realistic picture of the numbers sleeping rough in our city.”

Rowan Livingstone, St Petrock’s head of client services, said the charity has had to expand staffing to cope with rising demand: “We have had to take on additional staff to enable us to properly support the increased numbers of rough sleepers coming to the St Petrock’s centre each day.”

“This comes alongside greatly increased demand for the services we offer such as nutritious meals, showers, laundry, clothing, sleeping bags and more.”

“Our team also provides one-to-one support to help clients cope with the harsh realities of sleeping rough and we link them into other services such as housing providers, mental health support, drug and alcohol services, and help them to reconnect with family where appropriate.”

Exeter City Council said it is already implementing a major transformation of its housing and homelessness services to address the systemic challenges that underpin rough sleeping.

 This includes a new Off-the-Streets Offer providing same-day access to accommodation, a redesigned outreach service with stronger links to voluntary partners, expansion of Housing First and long-term supported accommodation, specialist pathways for people leaving hospital, prison, or care, and the introduction of trauma-informed approaches across frontline services. 

The council said these changes aim to reduce rough sleeping sustainably throughout the year, not just on the night of the annual count.

The 2025 snapshot underlines the scale of the challenge in Exeter, but both the council and St Petrock’s say the updated methodology provides a more realistic picture of rough sleeping, which is essential for planning and delivering support. 

St Petrock’s, which relies largely on public donations, marked its 30th anniversary in 2025 and said community support has been vital to expanding services to meet rising needs.