“The bathroom had severe damp, as did two out of the three bedrooms. The electrics were in a terrible, dangerous, state. The family had five children, the youngest was 11. Both the parents and the children struggled with depression and low self-esteem.”

“Damp and mould are probably the most reported problems, but they are often not the most serious. The most serious harm is caused by excess cold. It is insidious; the cause of death is never ‘got too cold’. … Read more

The safety net that local welfare schemes provide is stretched to breaking point. For families who have been homeless, or are facing homelessness now, this support is vital to their chances of making a fresh start. But ideas of what makes a ‘home’ can be severely tested if families are forced to go without basic household goods, such as a cooker, fridge, carpets of curtains.

The terrible events at Grenfell have brought into sharp focus what it means to … Read more

Paying housing costs through Universal Credit is causing problems for tenants, landlords and local councils alike, particularly in temporary accommodation. So we are pleased that the Government is planning to move this support back to locally-administered housing benefit.

Late last week we learnt that DWP Ministers are preparing to issue new guidance to ensure that families living in temporary accommodation, in areas where full Univeral Credit (UC) has been rolled out, will have their housing costs met by housing benefit … Read more

Making a new tenancy work after a period of homelessness is near on impossible if you have no cooker, fridge, carpets or curtains. Local council schemes to help families in extreme financial distress are disappearing in many parts of the country, and without them, more families will find themselves at risk of homelessness. We are looking at existing good practice and new ideas to better help families avoid homelessness – because being unable to afford a fridge should not mean … Read more

The London Mayor has announced plans for a new ‘London Living Rent’. The recognition that private sector rents in the capital are too high is very welcome – and paying a reduced rent, on new Build to Rent properties, will help some people on middle incomes save up for a deposit. But the rent levels are still well above what many Londoners can afford – so the London Living Rent can only be one piece of a larger solution to … Read more

The introduction of Pay to Stay from April 2017 will see some higher income social tenants required to pay more rent. Local councils are responsible for managing Pay to Stay but there is considerable uncertainty still about whether they will have the necessary IT processes or staffing in place, or enough time to inform tenants and assess their incomes, before the change is comes into effect in April 2017.

We might have been basking in the unexpected sunshine of an … Read more

The publication, last week, of the Law Society’s interactive map of legal aid provision for housing advice provides a stark illustration of how little free legal advice is now available to people facing a serious problem with their housing. It graphically illustrates the problem of advice deserts that Shelter sees every day.

Far too few people are getting the access to justice that they are entitled to and that can help them stay in their homes. And it is getting … Read more