A new report by housing charity Shelter reveals that more than 4 in every 10 people live in homes that fail to reach reasonable standards of living.
43% of respondents said that their home failed to meet the criteria for what constitutes as the Living Home Standard.
The new Living Home Standard is a guideline set by the public, for the public, and is measured in terms of affordability, space, stability, decent conditions and neighbourhood.
According to Shelter, damp, overpriced rent and cramped spaces are just some of the reasons why so many houses are failing to meet a reasonable standard of living.
However, the government claim to be doubling the affordable housing budget to £8bn, referring to the housing situation as ‘an absolute priority’.
A huge 58% of 25-34 year olds’ homes failed to reach the Living Home Standard and on top of that, more than 1 in every 4 people age 65 or over also live in unacceptable conditions.
Out of all the respondents:
- 27% of homes failed on affordability
- 18% of homes failed on decent conditions
- 11% of homes failed on space
- 10% of homes failed on stability
- 5% of homes failed on neighbourhood
The Chief Executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, has called on the government to work with them to improve the amount of houses meeting or exceeding the Living Home Standard.
He said: “It’s heart-breaking to think that so many people are having to make a choice between paying the rent and putting food on the table.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “We’ve set out the most ambitious vision for housing in a generation, doubling the affordable housing budget to £8bn to deliver 400,000 more quality homes.”
You can find the full report here. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the report by commenting on our Facebook post or tweeting us on Twitter.
