An estimated 100,000 Londoners were made homeless as a result of the fire and 13,200 houses were burnt down. People fled the flames with as many belongings as they could carry. Many used boats to cross the River Thames and watched the fire from the south bank. Most went north or west and camped in fields outside the City wall, going as far as Highgate and Islington. Both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn walked out to view the homeless and reported on their wretched state.
It took months for the rebuilding plans and regulations to be decided and by the end of 1667 only 150 houses had been rebuilt. In the meantime people stayed in the fields, established temporary shacks in the ruins or found accommodation in unburnt parts of London. Rents rocketed - a £40 per annum house rose to £150. People who moved away from the City often established new businesses elsewhere, such as the West End and never returned.