The Housing Crisis
“When we live in a safe, secure and affordable home, it supports our health and wellbeing and provides us with the solid base we need to thrive in life.” [Shelter]
Many of us take our homes for granted.
We might have neighbours who throw noisy parties from time to time. Or we may have to deal with occasional home maintenance issues. And sometimes we may have to move home which can be unsettling. But on the whole, most families feel safe and secure.
Many of our client families are at the very sharp end of the UK’s housing crisis. Most of the children we support are living in overcrowded, insecure, unsuitable or even dangerous conditions. No fault evictions are rising, bills are ballooning and social housing lists are overloaded. Housing uncertainty is widespread.
The housing register is the list of people who qualify for council housing and are waiting to be offered a property. There are currently around 3,000 people waiting for housing in Hammersmith & Fulham. It’s difficult to estimate when you will receive an offer of housing - it depends on the number of properties available to let, the level of priority you are based on your application and the length of time you have been on the register. This can be up to 10 years. [LBHF website]
An alarming number of families and children in London are living in temporary so-called ‘bed and breakfast’ accommodation. ‘Bed and breakfast accommodation’ does not mean somewhere nice and cosy for a mini break and home-cooked poached eggs. It is official terminology for accommodation that is ‘not separate or self-contained’ because ‘either cooking facilities are not provided or a toilet, personal washing facilities or cooking facilities are shared between more than one household’.
Due to the housing crisis, ‘last-resort’ housing has become the norm for too many vulnerable and low-income families.
Bed and breakfast accommodation is usually deemed ‘not suitable for a household with family commitments and children’ because it is known to be particularly detrimental to the health and development of children. Official guidance says that it should ‘only be used as a last resort’. Yet due to the housing crisis, increasing numbers of children are living in these facilities, many for extended periods of time.
Sometimes families share a room. Sometimes they are split between rooms. One of the young teenagers we support is sharing a room with her mother and one of her siblings whilst her two autistic teenage brothers are living in a different room elsewhere in the building. They are several miles away from their school. They are uncertain about how long they will be there. It is easy to understand the detrimental impact on the children.
It is estimated that one child in every London classroom is homeless. How is this possible?
London Councils is a cross-party organisation comprising all 32 London boroughs. They estimate that on average there is at least one homeless child in every London classroom. They commissioned the London School of Economics and Savills to undertake research. It makes for sobering reading.
With rents continuing to rise and the buy-to-let market contracting, the report highlights the increasing difficulties faced, particularly by low-income households seeking affordable accommodation and by London boroughs working to prevent homelessness. The immediate financial cost is significant. The report estimates that collectively, London councils are spending more than £50 million per month on temporary accommodation and suitable accommodation for homeless households. The long-term costs will be even more significant.
We know that there is a strong relationship between mental health and housing.
Poor housing (e.g. with damp and mould problems), uncertain tenancies and overcrowded conditions can worsen physical and mental health problems. Children and parents who are struggling with their mental health find it harder to cope with or resolve their housing problems, or to face other challenges in their lives.
Housing has become an immediate and significant issue for most of the families we work with. We are hearing increasing numbers of children and families talking about how poor, insecure or unsuitable housing is affecting them and how they are struggling without a safe and secure place to call home. For some clients, these issues are so overwhelming, they find it difficult to begin to work on other issues they came to us to try and address.
We are not a housing charity but we try and support our clients to face these challenges.
We support them to navigate the complexities of the system and work through the situation they find themselves in. We can help to signpost appropriate services. Sometimes we write letters of support or try to escalate matters by referring cases to social services because we are so concerned about children’s safety, for example during extremely cold weather. But local authorities are struggling to respond. Much more needs to be done at a system wide level to alleviate these pressures.
The homelessness situation in London is becoming unmanageable. We need the government to treat this as the emergency it is and work with us in reversing the numbers relying on temporary accommodation. In the long-run, the key to addressing homelessness and London’s housing crisis will be to build more homes, and specifically more affordable socially rented accommodation. [London Councils - August 2023]
Click here to read an article on MIND’s website about the impact of housing on mental health.
Click here to learn more about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from Wikipedia.