Poor housing health risk
OVERCROWDED and poor quality housing has led to mental or physical health problems in around three in 10 adults in Britain during the coronavirus outbreak, a survey suggests.
People are experiencing depression, stress and sleep loss, have sought medical help for mental health issues and are falling physically ill, housing organisations say.
The Yougov survey, for five housing organisations including the National Housing Federation (NHF), polled 4,116 adults online between June 11-15.
Extrapolating the results to reflect the size of the British population, it suggests 3.7 million people are living in overcrowded homes, while 30,000 people are spending lockdown in a home that consists of one room.
And it suggests 62,580 families are living in temporary accommodation - the highest number for 13 years.
Others are spending lockdown in homes that are damp and mouldy, insecure or pushing them into debt.
Of those who said their homes were not big enough, 52% said they had suffered from health problems.
A fifth said they had not been able to get enough sleep, 11% said they had felt depressed and 5% said they had sought medical help or taken medication for their mental health due to a lack of space. It follows a review by Public Health England, which said that overcrowding can contribute to the spread of coronavirus and is more prevalent in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) households. The housing organisations say the main cause of overcrowding is a lack of social housing in Britain.
Rent in social homes is typically around half the cost of private homes, while social homes are of a better standard on average than those rented from private landlords, they added.