Young adults ‘more likely to live in cramped homes without gardens’
A GENERATIONAL divide has been exposed by the coronavirus crisis, research suggests, with younger people having less living space and more likely to have no access to a garden.
A study by the Resolution Foundation warns over wider inequalities in living conditions, including damp, overcrowding, garden access and derelict neighbourhoods.
People aged 16-24 in England were more likely than those aged over-65 to live in a damp home, have no access to a garden, or to live in a derelict or congested neighbourhood, it found.
“This report provides further evidence that Covid-19 is exacerbating many existing inequalities, with younger people, those on low incomes and people from minority ethnic groups disproportionately affected,” said Alex Beer of the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the research.
“Overcrowded living conditions are also affecting children’s education, with those who lack internet access and a suitable place to study at serious risk of falling behind.”
Children from lower income households are nearly seven times more likely to have spent lockdown in an overcrowded home, the think-tank additionally warns.
“Britain is beset by a huge generational living conditions divide, which Covid-19 has brought to the fore,” said Fahmida Rahman, research and policy analyst.
“Millions of children and young adults have found themselves spending far more of their time in overcrowded homes with no garden access.
“These problems have been particularly acute for low-income and black, Asian and minority ethnic households who experience the worst living conditions of all.”
Challenges such as overcrowding have worsened instead of bettering over time, she said, reflecting “decades of failure” to build more homes and uphold standards in private rented homes.
“These divides have significant impacts on people’s well-being and mental health, and should be front of mind as decisions on reopening, or the nature of any further lockdown in the face of a second wave, are taken.”