Exclusive: new UK Covid Inquiry report sheds light on impact of pandemic on housing and homelessness

The report explains how the confinement of people in their homes during lockdown led to issues like overcrowding and damp and mould intensifying, negatively affecting people’s physical and mental health.

Plus, rising energy costs associated with being at home also placed further financial pressure on households, particularly for those living in poorly insulated homes.

There were strong concerns that the use of hotels and other forms of temporary accommodation as part of the Everyone In initiative has helped normalise its use in a way that is seen as financially unsustainable for local authorities given the high costs.

The initiative provided short-term accommodation for people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough and those living in accommodation where self-isolation was not possible, and was one of several positives identified in the report.

However, St Mungo’s said in the report: “[The] pandemic… normalised temporary accommodation that we’ve never got away from… It increased during Covid-19 and I don’t think we think of that as a short-term blip, it’s the new normal.”

According to the report, this change in accommodation led to reduced access to mental health, drug and alcohol and other advice services due to the shift away from face-to-face support to predominantly online support.

Shelter said: “In other parts of the country, people were put in budget hotels, with no support whatsoever. 

“They didn’t know how long they’d be there, people were having terrible mental health crises... In some cases there were skeleton staff in the hotels, so [there were] hotel staff dealing with people who wanted to take their own life, having severe reactions because they couldn’t obtain drugs or alcohol, and they were completely untrained.”

Other positives included the ban on evictions, which was described as “effective”, while representatives also viewed temporary benefit reforms positively, particularly the £20 weekly Universal Credit uplift and the removal of household benefit limits.

Another key issue identified by the roundtable discussions was the housing and homelessness workforce, including those working in housing associations, not being initially granted key worker status.

This prevented them from accessing essential personal protective equipment and childcare, and left them feeling undervalued and at risk of contracting the virus.

The workforce was praised for filling gaps left by the closure of face-to-face support by statutory services, taking on additional responsibilities that mental health and addiction services would normally provide.

The report states: “Representatives thought that in future pandemics, the housing and homelessness workforce should be recognised as key workers from the beginning of any pandemic or civil emergency to ensure they are better protected and supported.

“They felt it was essential that housing and homelessness sector expertise is incorporated in emergency planning and response and that clear and specific guidance is developed for the sector.”