Fifth of children living in unsuitable homes, NHF report finds

The report stated that living in cramped conditions has a detrimental impact on a child’s health and development, causing depression and anxiety and harming family life and education.

It said: “Underfunding for social rent, coupled with the fact that larger homes are more expensive to build, has led to an acute shortage of family-sized social homes. This has caused overcrowding to continue rising rapidly, increasing by 13% in just three years.”

Unaffordability was also highlighted by the NHF report, which found that a million children are living in homes where their families cannot afford the rent or mortgage, with the largest proportion of those families living in private rental accommodation.

The impact of high rents means that families have less money left to cover essentials such as food, bills and other living costs.

According to the report, a further 293,000 children are living in homes that are unsuitable for their needs or health requirements, while 283,000 are living with their families in other people’s homes – effectively homeless – as their families cannot afford a home of their own.

Additionally, government figures showed there are 124,000 homeless children living in temporary accommodation. This figure has risen by 81% in the past 10 years.

The NHF has called on the government to prioritise long-term and sustained investment in social housing as part of its plans to level up disadvantaged communities across the country.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said: “Today’s report shows that our children are fast becoming the biggest victims of a broken housing market. It is nothing short of tragic that so many children are forced to live in cramped conditions, sharing bedrooms and sometimes beds with parents and siblings while their families struggle to cover the costs of their food, clothes and shelter.

“Among those families affected will be many of the key workers that keep our economy going, such as teachers, nurses and labourers. By not providing the homes these families can afford to live in, we are depriving millions of children of a decent chance in life.

“Every child deserves to live in a safe, secure and affordable home, which is why we’re calling on the government to prioritise sustained and long-term investment in social housing.”

The NHF also noted that children are disproportionately affected by the shortage of social homes. While children account for a fifth (19%) of the population in England, they make up almost a third of people in need of social housing.

A government spokesperson said: "All children deserve to live in a safe and decent home, and we’re strengthening councils’ enforcement powers to tackle overcrowding and reduce social housing waiting lists, which have fallen by over 550,000 households between 2010 and 2021.

“This is supported by our £12 billion investment in affordable homes over the next five years, which will further boost the number of homes available.

“We are also providing councils with £65 million to help vulnerable households with rent arrears.”