Over half a million families in England live in overcrowded conditions

A recent report has highlighted the UK’s still ongoing housing crisis as it shows that over 600,000 families in England are living in overcrowded conditions. A severe shortage of housing, particularly social housing, means that there are 96,000 more children who are living in an overcrowded home today, than there were a decade ago.

The study from the National Housing Federation (NHF) shows that record levels of overcrowding have been reached across England, with children and adults struggling to find their own space at home.

Children sharing with adults

For the purposes of the report, overcrowding in housing is where a child:

• Must share their bedroom with two or more other children.
• Sleep in the same room as their parents.
• Share with a teenager of the opposite sex.

However, through its research, the NHF has also identified that:

• Up to 627,000 children share a bedroom with a parent.
• As many as 368,000 children share a bed with a parent or sibling.
• Some 380,000 adults sleep in kitchens, bathrooms or hallways.

This level of overcrowding among families in England is something that has been getting worse over the past ten years and right now, there still isn’t enough investment or planning to rectify this situation.

Indeed, the NHF states that the lack of social housing is the main reason for this chronic overcrowding. In the meantime, the UK’s Private Rental Sector landlords are doing what they can to fill the void between demand and supply of housing across England and the UK.

However, due to a variety of changes in tax treatment of BTL investors and also the way in which benefits are paid to recipients, in some areas, landlords are finding it hard to continue to provide housing for families.

One way in which some BTL landlords are confident of receiving their rent while providing housing to renters in receipt of benefits, is through the use of rent guarantor agreements. In some cases, family members and close friends act as guarantors, while in others, companies, like ours, Rent Guarantor, can be used.

This is just one way in which PRS landlords can gain peace of mind that their rent will always be paid, even if their tenants even if their tenants get into difficulties or the benefit payment system fails to perform as it should.

Billions needed for investment into social housing sector

As part of its research, the NHF has also considered how this housing crisis and severe overcrowding can be brought to a halt. It calculates the Government needs to invest some £12.8 billion over the next ten years in the social housing sector. This, it says, would ensure some 145,000 new affordable homes are available to rent and buy under shared ownerships schemes, every year.

“All across the country, whole families squeeze into one-bedroom flats,” said the NHF’s Chief Executive, Kate Henderson. “This is having a huge impact on more than a million children, seriously affecting their start in life.”

 “The only way to fix the problem is by building enough social housing, which requires a radical public spending programme – there is simply no other way. By investing £12.8bn in affordable housing every year, the Government can finally put an end to the country’s housing problem,” Henderson added.

While this isn’t the first time the NHF or other bodies have come to the conclusion that the Government needs to invest some serious money into the social housing sector, so far, the sums of money that are needed are still not being made available. With so many demands currently being made on the UK Government’s funds, it remains to be seen when or even if, enough investment is ever made into the UK’s social housing sector.