'Quarter of young people' live in poor quality housing, as research reveals UK in 'twin crisis'

A quarter of young people risk sickness because of damp, cold, or unclean living conditions, new data has suggested.

Think tank Resolution Foundation found that adults aged 34 and under - 2.6 million people - are three times more likely to live in poor quality housing than those over 45.

The research also found that 26% of 18 to 24-year-olds live in buildings in a state of disrepair, riddled with damp, or without electricity, heating, or plumbing.

Resolution Foundation said the country was “blighted” by a twin crisis of unaffordable and low quality housing and that the government must "tackle" the crises.

However, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities insisted it was "committed to increasing supply and driving up standards".

The think tank's study, which used data from YouGov, found that people living in subpar housing are twice as likely to experience ill health.

Almost one in five people in poor quality housing suffer from bad mental health and one in ten have poor physical health.

People from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds are the most likely to report poor home living standards (36%), followed by 26% of black families, the study found.

And the poorest fifth of families are more than five times as likely to report living in poor quality housing than middle or higher-income households.

People living in London are twice as likely to live in poor housing as those in Scotland due to the prevalence of these groups, the study claimed.

Meanwhile, renters are more likely to struggle paying their bills, with 15% of people in social housing and 10% of private renters falling behind on their housing costs in the past three months.

This compares to just 4% of homeowners.

Reflecting on the findings, Lalitha Try, economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The UK is blighted by two housing crises,” she said.

“High housing costs are causing many renters in particular to fall behind on housing payments, while poor quality housing is leaving millions of people having to deal with damp and malfunctioning heating, plumbing and electrics.

“High costs and poor housing quality can make life miserable for people, and can damage both their personal finances and their wider health.

“It is critical that policy makers tackle both of these crises – by building new affordable housing, and improving the quality of the housing stock we already have.”

In response to the study, a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Everyone deserves decent, safe, and suitable homes and we are committed to increasing supply and driving up standards.

“We are investing £11.5 billion through our Affordable Homes Programme to deliver tens of thousands of homes for rent and sale right across the country.

“Our Social Housing Bill will bolster the regulator’s powers so landlords who fail to provide decent homes have nowhere to hide and Awaab’s Law will force them to fix damp, mould and other hazards within a strict time frame.

“We are also introducing a Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector for the first time ever which will make sure tenants have a safe and decent place to live.”

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