Severe overcrowding caused by housing shortage
A recent report by the National Housing Federation states that one in six children are forced to live in cramped conditions with no personal space because of a lack of suitable and affordable housing.
Families are considered to be overcrowded if more than two children under the age of 10 are sharing a room, two teenagers of different sex are sharing a room, or two adults (aged 16 years and over), who are not in a relationship, are sharing a room.
The report also states:
- In just under half (41%) of overcrowded homes, children or teenagers are sharing a bedroom with their parents. This could affect more than 300,000 families and half a million children, including 142,000 teenagers.
- A quarter of parents in overcrowded homes are regularly forced to sleep in a living room, bathroom, hallway or kitchen because of the lack of space. This affects 180,000 families.
- Parents in more than half (53%) of overcrowded homes worry that their children are too embarrassed to bring friends home. This could affect more than one million children.
- In almost half (48%) of overcrowded homes, children struggle to do their homework because of the lack of space. This could affect 900,000 children.
- Over two thirds (70%) of overcrowded families say they have experienced both poor mental and poor physical health as a direct result of overcrowding. This could affect over half a million families.
The National Housing Federation is calling for a long-term, national plan aimed at drastically increasing the number of affordable and social homes and we completely support them.
