Quarter of Yorkshire homes failing to meet acceptable standards of living

A new study, published today by housing charity Shelter, has found that 27 per cent of people in the region are faced with either high living costs, poor, cramped, or unstable conditions.

Now, social research charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has backed Shelters’ call for real change to improve living standards for all.

“Home provides a platform for everything else in life, so it’s deeply concerning that one in four people in our region live in homes that don’t meet the living home standard,” said Brian Robson, policy and research manager for housing. “Shelter’s research shows that the primary cause for this is the affordability crisis.

“This is set to worsen, with JRF forecasts showing private rents set to rise more than twice as fast as incomes towards 2040. To tackle the affordability problem, the new Government must refocus housing spending to deliver more affordable homes to rent.”

Shelter, working with Ipsos MORI, carried out research over the course of nine months to determine what the public felt they should have from a home in order to live, rather than just get by.

It has now launched a new “living home standard” to set a measure of what should be acceptable, designed to be the housing equivalent of the Living Wage,

“We know all too well that a home is much more than bricks and mortar – it’s a place that should allow us to live and thrive, rather than just get by,” said Shelter Sheffield’s service manager Tracey Nathan. “The sad truth is that every day we speak to people living in homes that just aren’t up to scratch – from renting families forced to cope with poor conditions, to all those struggling to keep up with their sky high housing costs. Now is the time to get to grips with our housing crisis once and for all. We’re calling on the new Government, alongside businesses and other charities, to work with us to increase the number of homes that meet the living home standard.”

Shelter developed the standard through a series of workshops with the public, breaking measures down into five areas including space, decency, affordability, stability and neighbourhood.

The research found that in Yorkshire and the Humberside most homes falling below the standard were due to the impact of high housing costs, with around one in eight people (12 per cent) living in homes which fail on affordability. Almost one in 10 (nine per cent) live in homes which fail to meet the standard because of poor conditions, with problems including persistent pests, damp or safety hazards.

And the homes of one in 20 people (five per cent) fail due to instability, largely driven by renters who feel they don’t have enough control over how long they can live in their home.

British Gas, which has been working with Shelter for five years to improve conditions in the private rented sector, said this wasn’t good enough.

Sarwjit Sambhi, managing director of UK Home, said: “Our partnership has changed the lives of thousands of families but this report shows that there is clearly more to do. The fact that many people do not even have basic levels of safety, comfort and security is unacceptable.”