One in five children in need of a new home

Nearly two millions children in England – one in every five – are living in overcrowded, unaffordable or unsuitable homes, according to new findings released by the National Housing Federation.

The annual ‘state of the nation’ report on England’s housing crisis has revealed that two thirds of these children (1.3 million) are in need of social housing as this is the only suitable and affordable type of home for their families. Social rented homes are typically 50 per cent of market rents and the most affordable and secure homes for those on low incomes.

According to the findings, the biggest single housing issue affecting children in England is overcrowding. There are 1.1 million children living in overcrowded homes, accounting for almost one in three people affected by overcrowding. Living in these cramped conditions has a detrimental impact on a child’s health and development, causing depression and anxiety and harming family life and education.

Underfunding for social rent, coupled with the fact that larger homes are more expensive to build, has led to an acute shortage of family-sized social homes. This has caused overcrowding to continue rising rapidly, increasing by 13 per cent in just three years.

There are currently a million children whose families cannot afford their rent or mortgage payments. The largest proportion of these families are renting privately and being pushed into poverty by high rents, juggling paying for bills, food and other living costs in order to keep a roof over their heads. However, cuts to benefits mean there are some families that cannot even afford the cheapest forms of social housing.

Furthermore, the National Housing Federation claims that 293,000 children are living in homes that are unsuitable for their needs or health requirements, while 283,000 are living with their families in other people’s homes – effectively homeless – as their families cannot afford a home of their own. Additionally, government figures show that there are 124,000 homeless children living in temporary accommodation. This figure has risen by 81 per cent in the last ten years.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “Today’s report shows that our children are fast becoming the biggest victims of a broken housing market. It is nothing short of tragic that so many children are forced to live in cramped conditions, sharing bedrooms and sometimes beds with parents and siblings while their families struggle to cover the costs of their food, clothes and shelter.

“Amongst those families affected will be many of the key workers that keep our economy going such as teachers, nurses and labourers. By not providing the homes these families can afford to live in, we are depriving millions of children of a decent chance in life. Every child deserves to live in a safe, secure and affordable home which is why we’re calling on the government to prioritise sustained and long term investment in social housing.”