HOUSING ASSOCIATION WITH 70% OF TENANTS IN POVERTY

EDITORIAL

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AHOUSING association chief has spoken out about t he “s hocking” effects of welfare cuts and austerity policies after a survey of their tenants found more than 70% were living in poverty. Shona Stephen, chief executive of Queens Cross Housing Association in Glasgow, said benefit reforms and mounting living costs were pushing households to the brink.

She said: “We’ve got tenants on very low incomes, paying high fuel costs because they’ve got pay-as-yougo meters, and they’re home a lot because they’re unemployed or old, so a big portion of their income is going on fuel and therefore they’ve got very little left to use for food and clothes. We have had residents who have been selling their furniture to pay their rent.”

The findings emerged after QCHA carried out research, questioning their tenants on everything from their incomes to their health. The move came after the housing association doubled in size in 2011 when it took on extra stock offloaded by Glasgow Housing Association. It now provides social housing to around 4500 tenants in the city.

Stephen said she had commissioned the survey to get a clearer idea of who tenants were and what they needed, but had been shocked when the results revealed that 70% fell into the poverty bracket – defined as having a household income of 60% or less than the national median average.

At the time when the research was carried out, this was equivalent to £416 a week – meaning that about 3300 of QCHA’s tenants had a total household income of no more than £250 a week, and many far less.