Research commissioned by the National Housing Federation revealed that approximately 8.4 million people in England are affected by the housing crisis.
The federation says that these people are living in an unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable home. The research results showed that people of all ages across every part of England felt the effects of the housing crisis.
The issues that arose from the crisis include overcrowded housing or people being unable to afford their rent or mortgage. This was despite the government claiming that housing was "a priority" and it had delivered 430,000 affordable homes since 2010.
Heriot-Watt University researchers conducted the study on behalf of the federation using data from the annual Understanding Society survey of 40,000 people by the University of Essex. Numbers were scaled up to represent England's almost 56 million population.
Findings indicated that 3.6 million people are living in an overcrowded home while 2.5 million people are unable to pay their rent or mortgage. Results of the study also showed that there are 2.5 million people living in "hidden households" which refer to situations such as house sharing, adults living with their parents, or people living with an ex-partner.
The federation also found that 1.7 million are in unsuitable housing, including older people stuck in homes they cannot get around and families in properties which have no exterior space, while 1.4 million people are in poor quality homes. These figures also revealed 400,000 homeless people or people at risk of homelessness, including those in sleeping rough, living in homeless shelters, temporary accommodation or sofa-surfing.
Kate Henderson, the National Housing Federation chief executive, is clamoring for "a return to proper funding for social housing". She argued "From Cornwall to Cumbria, millions of people are being pushed into debt and poverty because rent is too expensive, children can't study because they have no space in their overcrowded homes, and many older or disabled people are struggling to move around their own home because it's unsuitable."
