Rising numbers of people are at risk of homelessness in England, but official data does not show this, according to a study.
Research by charities Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggested "informal" methods used by councils to tackle the problem had masked a 9% rise in cases in 2013-14 - to 280,000 cases.
Official statistics put the number of "accepted homeless" cases at about 52,000 last year, down 3% from 2012-13.
The government claims that the charities' figures were "misleading".
The annual independent study - which drew on a survey of England's 326 councils in 2014 - said the rise in the number of people facing homelessness was in part the result of benefit cuts and sanctions.
It also blamed a "woeful lack of affordable housing" which meant growing numbers of people were having to live away from their area.
Authors said nearly two-thirds of councils thought "headline" homelessness figures no longer reflected local trends because authorities were increasingly reliant on "informal" approaches to homelessness which are recorded separately.
The study combined the official "homelessness acceptances" figure from last year (52,270) with the number of homelessness "prevention and relief" cases (227,800) - where councils had taken steps to tackle the problem.
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