Thousands of North East and Teesside families are living in poor standard homes
Thousands of North East families are “pushed into poverty” by living in poor standard homes.
Stark figures reveal 600,000 people in the region living in private rented homes pay more per week than others living in other tenures and are likely to live in worse conditions.
A report by the Northern Housing Consortium said this is being made worse by higher than average numbers of people in the lowest income bracket living in the private rented sector, where rents are higher but homes are more likely to be in poor condition.
Around 21 per cent of the regional population and 30 per cent of children are believed to be affected by the issues, while 16 per cent of North East homes do not meet government standards.
Meanwhile, thousands of struggling families are stuck on bloated council waiting lists for houses. In County Durham, the number of people waiting has risen by around 30 per cent in the last four years to 10,999.
The government has been urged to announce a new long-term affordable homes programme, prioritising social housing, to help end the issues. The Northern Housing Consortium also called for new investment and regulations to improve living standards.
In Horden, County Durham, around £10.7 million has been provided to help regenerate the area. Over 100 new family homes, including council housing that will be affordable to local families, will be created.
A Sunderland scheme that aims to create hundreds of new homes and thousands of jobs was also recently backed with nearly £30m of Government funding. The investment will kick start a programme of house building and regeneration across the North East outlined by mayor Kim McGuinness, with council and social housing at its heart.
Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium Tracy Harrison said: “It’s clear that housing costs are pushing people in the North East into poverty and that thousands are struggling to afford their living costs. There is a lack of social housing and as a result, household budgets are squeezed and people are often forced to live in poor quality, insecure housing in the private rented sector.
“We’ve been pleased to see the new government is prioritising housing, but more needs to be done. It is vital that action is taken to make sure that everyone in the North has access to a good quality, safe home. This means building more social housing, injecting funding, and regulating to improve the quality of all rented homes.”
Housing officials also warned the government’s decision to freeze the amount of housing benefit low-income renters receive will increase poverty. Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – the localised rates that determine how much housing benefit claimants are entitled to – will be locked at the current levels until 2026.
Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showed that private renters relying on LHA to pay for their homes will be on average £243 worse off a year as a result of the freeze.
Ms Harrison added: “The decision to freeze LHA must also be reversed to avoid pushing more people on low incomes in privately rented homes into poverty and making things worse for those who are already struggling.”
The government said it is committed to the “biggest increase in affordable housing in a generation”. A spokesperson added: “LHA rates have already increased earlier this year by 6.7 per cent, which is worth an additional £800 on average to low-income households, and will be maintained at that rate for the next year.”