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I work on a housing helpline, and this country is failing our key workers
I’ve been answering calls on Shelter’s emergency helpline for the past 20 years, and things are the worst I’ve ever seen, says Jane Daley, a helpline operator for the housing and homelessness charity
Jane Daley is a helpline operator at Shelter
I’ve been answering calls on Shelter’s emergency helpline for the past 20 years, and things are the worst I’ve ever seen, says Jane Daley, a helpline operator for the housing charity #UKhousingIn the 20 years I’ve been answering calls on Shelter’s emergency helpline, I can honestly say things have never seemed so grim.
Day after day, I receive calls from people terrified that they and their family will lose their home. Maybe their rent has shot up once again, or their landlord has served a Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction notice.
For others, their worst fears have already come true. I’ve spoken to countless parents, devastated and furious that their children’s first steps, words and memories are happening in cramped hostels or grotty temporary accommodation, with little hope of a social home on the horizon.
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One thing I’ve learnt is that the housing emergency can affect almost anyone. Many of the calls I take are from full-time workers, including key workers such as teachers, nurses and care workers, struggling to keep a roof over their head.
Analysis by Shelter found that in almost half (45%) of local authorities in England, renting in the private sector is unaffordable for newly qualified nurses. In London and the South East, a one-bedroom home is completely unaffordable for them in 93% of local authorities.
“Analysis by Shelter found that in almost half (45%) of local authorities in England, renting in the private sector is unaffordable for newly qualified nurses”
Recently, I took a call from a single mum of two primary school children. She was a nurse, recently made homeless after a Section 21 eviction. Despite trying desperately to find somewhere new, every private rental was either too expensive or was snapped up before she’d even had a chance to view it. As a result, the family had been placed in damp, mouse-infested temporary accommodation by their local council, with no idea when, or even if, they’d be given a social home.
It’s not just nurses who are being priced out of their communities. Private rents are unaffordable in 43% of England for new teachers and in 69% for NHS healthcare assistants. Yet social rented homes are affordable in 100% of the country for NHS key workers and teachers.
On the helpline, we try to offer hope, as well as advice and support, but things certainly seem tougher than they did back in January 2005 when I started the job.
Now, rents are at an all-time high, and record numbers of people are living in temporary accommodation. The reason? Decades of failure to build enough social homes has pushed private rents to extortionate levels, forcing more and more renters, including key workers, out of their homes and into homelessness.
Many of the people I speak to sound utterly exhausted by the constant fear of being forced out of their homes – often not for the first time. I regularly hear of families stuck in a never-ending cycle of rent hikes, eviction, then the desperate search for a home all over again.
Another nurse I spoke to recently was facing her first eviction, after falling into arrears following a rent increase. A single mother, she’d spent a lot of time and money studying to become a nurse, with the hope of ensuring a better life for her little girl. Now they were facing homelessness.
“Nearly two-thirds of key workers who rent privately are struggling or behind on their rent, and one in five have skipped meals or cut back on food to pay rent”
Sadly, her situation is not uncommon. With private rents soaring and a dire shortage of social housing, recent YouGov polling for Shelter shows the huge financial strain that key workers who are renting privately face. Nearly two-thirds of key workers who rent privately are struggling or behind on their rent, and one in five have skipped meals or cut back on food to pay rent in the past month.
It’s tough to hear the people we were all clapping and cheering a few years back facing such a difficult time. But there is a solution. The government must invest in 90,000 social homes a year in the Spending Review in June. Not only would this ensure that the government meets its target of building 1.5 million homes, it would also end homelessness and boost our economy, not least through enhancing jobs and savings for the NHS and benefits bill.
Until then, me and Shelter’s helpline team will be there for anyone who needs us, taking calls and doing all we can to provide help, hope and advice to people facing the trauma of homelessness.
Jane Daley, helpline operator, Shelter
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