Best Software for Homelessness and Housing Charities in the UK (2026)

The right CRM or case management platform helps homelessness charities track complex client journeys, coordinate multi-agency support, and demonstrate outcomes to funders. This guide compares the leading options available to UK homelessness and housing organisations in 2026, covering everything from rough sleeping outreach tools to hostel management systems.

TL;DR

Homelessness charities need software that handles complex, multi-stage pathways — from street outreach through assessment, temporary accommodation, and move-on. The best platforms combine case management, referral tracking, safeguarding tools, and statutory reporting (H-CLIC) in a single system. Purpose-built tools like In-Form and CHAIN dominate the sector, but general charity CRMs like Plinth and Lamplight offer strong alternatives with broader feature sets. Your choice depends on organisation size, whether you run accommodation, and how much multi-agency data sharing you need.

Why Homelessness Charities Need Specialist Software

Homelessness services operate under extraordinary pressure. In September 2025, an estimated 9,292 people were sleeping rough across England over the course of the month — a 6% increase since June 2025 (GOV.UK, Rough Sleeping Data Framework). The autumn 2024 single-night snapshot counted 4,667 people sleeping rough, a 20% rise on the previous year and the third consecutive annual increase (GOV.UK, Rough Sleeping Snapshot).

Behind these headline figures sits a far larger crisis. A record 132,410 households were living in temporary accommodation as of June 2025, up 7.6% year-on-year (GOV.UK, Statutory Homelessness). Crisis estimates that around 300,000 people are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness — including rough sleeping, sofa surfing, and living in tents — many of whom never appear in official statistics (Crisis, Homelessness Monitor 2025).

In London alone, CHAIN data for October to December 2025 recorded 4,841 individuals sleeping rough, a 5% increase on the same quarter the previous year (Evolve Housing, 2026). Charities working across this landscape need systems that can keep pace with rapidly changing client circumstances, tight statutory deadlines, and growing demand.

Generic spreadsheets and basic databases were never designed for this kind of complexity. Homelessness casework involves multi-agency coordination, safeguarding concerns, accommodation placements, and detailed outcome tracking — all of which require purpose-built or highly configurable software.

What Homelessness Charities Need from Software

The specific requirements of homelessness services differ from those of most other charity subsectors. Here is what to look for when evaluating platforms.

Case management with complex pathways. Client journeys in homelessness are rarely linear. A single individual might move from rough sleeping to outreach contact, then to an assessment, into temporary accommodation, back to rough sleeping, into a hostel, and eventually into settled housing. Software must track these non-linear pathways without losing data or context at each transition.

Multi-agency working and data sharing. Homelessness charities rarely work alone. They coordinate with local authorities, NHS mental health teams, substance misuse services, probation, housing associations, and other voluntary sector organisations. Software needs to support secure data sharing across these boundaries — ideally with consent management built in to stay GDPR-compliant.

Referral management. Effective referral tracking is essential. Charities receive referrals from councils, hospitals, police, and self-referrals, and they make onward referrals to specialist services. The system should track referral status, response times, and outcomes. In 2024-25, 330,410 households were owed support to prevent or relieve homelessness after approaching their local council (GOV.UK, Statutory Homelessness), and referrals between agencies form a significant share of that demand.

Safeguarding and risk assessment. People experiencing homelessness are disproportionately vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and self-harm. Software should include structured risk assessment tools, concern-level indicators, and clear audit trails for safeguarding decisions.

Accommodation and bed management. Organisations running hostels, night shelters, or supported housing need to manage bed availability, allocations, room moves, licence agreements, and void tracking. This is a specialist requirement that not every CRM handles well.

Outcome tracking. Funders increasingly want to see evidence of sustained outcomes — not just outputs. Software should track housing stability (e.g. whether someone is still housed after six or twelve months), health improvements, and employment or training engagement.

H-CLIC and statutory reporting compatibility. Local authorities are required to submit H-CLIC (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection) data to MHCLG. Charities working closely with councils benefit from systems that can align with or directly export H-CLIC-compatible data. The government allocated £694.17 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2025/26 (GOV.UK, HPG Allocations), and grant conditions increasingly require robust reporting.

Mobile access for outreach workers. Street outreach teams need to record contacts, assessments, and referrals in the field — often in poor weather, with limited connectivity. Mobile-friendly or offline-capable tools are not a nice-to-have; they are essential.

GDPR-compliant data sharing. Homelessness services handle some of the most sensitive personal data in the charity sector, including health information, criminal justice involvement, and immigration status. Consent management, access controls, and data retention policies must be built into the platform, not bolted on.

How Plinth Supports Homelessness Charities

Plinth is a modern charity CRM and case management platform designed for UK nonprofits delivering frontline services. While it is not homelessness-specific, its feature set maps closely to the requirements outlined above.

AI Case Management. Plinth provides structured pathways with configurable stages, concern-level indicators, household tracking, and caseworker assignment — supporting the complex, non-linear journeys typical of homelessness casework. Learn more about Case Management.

Partner CRM. Multi-agency referrals are central to homelessness work. Plinth's partner directory and referral tracking tools help organisations manage relationships with local authorities, NHS services, and other charities. Learn more about Partner CRM.

AI Case Notes. Outreach workers can transcribe conversations and record case notes on the go using Plinth's AI-powered case notes feature. This is particularly valuable for street outreach teams who need to capture information quickly between appointments. Learn more about AI Case Notes.

Impact Reporting. Plinth's reporting tools help organisations demonstrate outcomes to funders, trustees, and commissioners. Built-in analytics can track housing stability, support engagement, and other metrics that matter to homelessness funders. Learn more about Impact Reporting.

AI Service Directory. Helping clients find other local services — from food banks to mental health support — is a core part of homelessness casework. Plinth's AI-powered service directory makes it easier for caseworkers to identify and refer to relevant provision. Learn more about AI Service Directory.

Plinth does not currently offer dedicated bed management or H-CLIC export tools. Organisations with those specific requirements may need to combine Plinth with a specialist accommodation management module or use a purpose-built system.

Other Software Options for Homelessness Charities

Several other platforms serve the UK homelessness sector, each with different strengths and trade-offs.

In-Form (by Homeless Link)

In-Form is the most widely used case management system in the UK homelessness sector. Built on Salesforce and developed by Homeless Link — the national membership body for homelessness organisations — it is used by over 300 organisations and supports more than 22,000 staff (In-Form). In-Form is purpose-built for the sector, with features including client case management, outcome tracking, and reporting. Homeless Link also offers a Smaller Organisations Bursary Scheme, providing eligible members with a £2,500 bursary towards implementation costs.

Best for: Organisations wanting a sector-specific platform with strong peer networks and Homeless Link membership benefits.

CHAIN

CHAIN (Combined Homelessness and Information Network) is the multi-agency database used to record information about rough sleeping in London. Managed by the Greater London Authority and delivered by St Mungo's, it is the primary data source for rough sleeping statistics in the capital. CHAIN is not a commercially available product — it is a shared system used by commissioned outreach services across London.

Best for: London-based rough sleeping outreach services that are part of the commissioned pathway.

Charitylog

Charitylog is a general-purpose charity CRM used by advice services, community organisations, and some housing support providers. It offers case management, outcome tracking, and reporting tools at a relatively low price point. While not homelessness-specific, its flexibility means it can be configured for support services.

Best for: Smaller organisations or those delivering floating support alongside other community services.

Salesforce (Nonprofit Cloud)

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud is used by some of the largest homelessness charities in the UK, including Crisis and St Mungo's. It offers powerful customisation, reporting, and integration capabilities, but requires significant implementation effort and ongoing administration. In-Form is itself built on Salesforce, which speaks to the platform's flexibility — but also to the complexity of configuring it for homelessness use without expert help.

Best for: Large organisations with dedicated IT or data teams and complex multi-site operations.

Lamplight

Lamplight is a UK-built charity database that serves organisations across the homelessness and housing sector. It offers case management, outcome tracking, and reporting tools with a focus on simplicity and affordability. Lamplight is particularly popular with smaller charities and community organisations.

Best for: Smaller organisations looking for a straightforward, affordable system without the overhead of Salesforce.

ECCO Solutions

ECCO Solutions offers tailored software for homelessness services, with features for case management, service coordination, and outcome tracking. The platform is designed to support the management and delivery of services to people experiencing homelessness.

Best for: Organisations looking for a configurable platform with a specific focus on homelessness service delivery.

Comparison Table

CHAIN is free to commissioned services in London; it is not available as a standalone product.

Choosing the Right Platform

The right choice depends on several factors specific to your organisation.

If you run hostel or supported accommodation and need bed management and H-CLIC reporting, In-Form or a Salesforce custom build will likely be the strongest fit. These offer the specialist accommodation features that general CRMs do not.

If you are a London-based rough sleeping outreach team commissioned through the GLA pathway, you will almost certainly use CHAIN as your primary recording system. You may still benefit from a separate CRM for internal case management and funder reporting.

If you deliver floating support, advice, or day centre services without managing accommodation, a general charity CRM like Plinth, Charitylog, or Lamplight will handle your casework effectively — often at a lower cost and with less configuration overhead than sector-specific tools.

If you are a large multi-site charity with complex reporting needs and dedicated IT capacity, Salesforce offers the most customisation. But plan for a significant implementation budget and ongoing administration costs.

If you want AI-powered tools to reduce administrative burden on caseworkers — such as automatic case note transcription and intelligent service directory search — Plinth is currently the strongest option in this area.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most widely used CRM for homelessness charities in the UK?

In-Form by Homeless Link is the most widely adopted, used by over 300 organisations and more than 22,000 staff across the homelessness and housing sector. It is purpose-built for the sector and includes features for case management, outcome tracking, and reporting.

Do I need specialist software for homelessness services, or will a general charity CRM work?

It depends on what you do. If you manage hostel beds, need H-CLIC reporting, or participate in multi-agency rough sleeping databases, a specialist tool like In-Form or CHAIN is likely essential. If you deliver floating support, outreach, or advice services, a general charity CRM like Plinth, Charitylog, or Lamplight can handle your casework — often with less complexity and lower cost.

What is H-CLIC and why does it matter?

H-CLIC (Homelessness Case Level Information Collection) is the statutory data collection that local authorities in England submit to MHCLG. It captures detailed case-level data about every household that approaches the council as homeless or at risk of homelessness. If your charity works closely with local authorities or delivers statutory homelessness services under contract, your software should ideally align with H-CLIC data fields to simplify reporting.

How much does homelessness charity software cost?

Costs vary widely. Lamplight and Charitylog start from around a few hundred pounds per year for small organisations. Plinth offers affordable pricing designed for frontline charities. In-Form sits in the mid-range, with Homeless Link offering bursaries for smaller members. Salesforce implementations can run into tens of thousands of pounds when you factor in licences, customisation, and ongoing support.

Can outreach workers use these systems in the field?

Most modern platforms offer mobile-friendly web interfaces or dedicated apps. Plinth's AI Case Notes feature is specifically designed for on-the-go recording, allowing outreach workers to transcribe conversations and capture notes quickly. In-Form and CHAIN also offer mobile access. Offline capability varies between platforms — check this if your outreach teams work in areas with poor connectivity.

What about GDPR when sharing data between agencies?

Multi-agency data sharing in homelessness requires robust consent management and clear data sharing agreements. Look for software that includes consent recording at the individual level, granular access controls, audit trails for data access, and data retention management. All the platforms reviewed in this guide offer GDPR-compliant data handling, but the depth of consent management tools varies.

How do I demonstrate impact to funders?

Funders want to see sustained outcomes, not just activity data. The strongest platforms let you track outcomes over time — for example, whether someone is still housed six months after move-on, or whether their health and wellbeing scores have improved. Plinth's Impact Reporting and In-Form's outcome tracking tools are both well suited to this. Make sure any system you choose can report on the specific outcomes your funders care about.

Recommended Next Pages

• What is Case Management? — understand the fundamentals of structured case tracking
• Case Workflows and Pathways — learn how to configure pathways for complex client journeys
• Case Concern Levels — how to prioritise cases using structured risk indicators
• What is Impact Reporting? — demonstrating outcomes to funders and commissioners
• Track Case Interactions — recording every contact point across multi-agency work

Last updated: February 2026

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