A charity claims that around one in six older people on low incomes can’t afford to retire because of housing costs – including rents in the private sector.
Crisis, a homelessness charity, claims “the escalating housing crisis across Great Britain is driving people in later life towards homelessness.”
The charity surveyed some 1,600 people aged 55+ on low incomes across Britain and conducted 13 in-depth interviews with people facing homelessness.
Some 17% of those surveyed said they were unable to stop working because of their housing costs – with one interviewee saying they “did not ever see themselves retiring”. For people already retired, nearly one in 10 (8%) said they were planning to look for work again so they could cover the cost of their housing.
For older low-income renters the situation was worse with 9% fearing they will be at risk of homelessness by the end of this year, while 17% said they feared homelessness in their retirement. A fifth felt that housing benefit adequately covered their housing costs as it fails to keep pace with the true cost of renting.
Crisis claims that of those surveyed, two thirds (66%) had avoided using heating, hot water and electricity where possible, while others shared that they expected to have to rely on a food bank in future to help cover their housing costs. With many struggling to make ends meet, nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents said they were going out less often, while nearly a third (28%) stated the changes they had been forced to make to cover their costs had left them lonelier and more isolated.
Nearly one in seven (15%) older people surveyed revealed that their housing situation had made it harder to look after the people they care for. Crisis is warning that as more people are forced to rely on overstretched and struggling support services, the escalating housing crisis is now contributing to the one in social care.
The charity states that in England, older people facing homelessness has risen by over 50% over the past five years and the numbers trapped in temporary accommodation are starting to follow suit. Over the last two years, the numbers of people aged 55 and above who are in temporary accommodation in England has increased by a third (35%).
Crisis says that the findings are a symptom of decades of failure to build enough social homes, exacerbated by surging rental prices and living costs and a lack of investment in the welfare system. Taken together, this is leading to a generation once safe from Britain’s housing crisis being gradually pulled into its vortex.
Crisis is urging members of the public to join its call to end homelessness for good and sign their open letter to the Prime Minister.
Charity chief executive Matt Downie says: “Britain’s housing crisis is an intergenerational one, with a growing number of older people facing homelessness. Many people who have spent their lives working are left hanging by a thread because of a lack of social homes, leaving charities to fill the gap.
“No one should be forced to endure the hardship and trauma of homelessness, and in later life the consequences can be even more devastating. We’ve heard harrowing accounts – including someone who had to crawl over to a lamppost to be able to pull themselves up after sleeping rough in the cold and someone who was placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation far away from their wife’s care home making visiting her near impossible. These stories show the shameful reality of a housing and homelessness crisis that has been decades in the making, and we need change.
“The recent spending review committed crucial funding for social and affordable housing over the next decade. With the right actions, the UK Government now has a rare chance to end homelessness for good. This requires delivering more social homes as quickly as possible, and reversing the real-terms cut to housing benefit which is making it nearly impossible for people on low incomes across Great Britain to pay their rent. Finally, to prevent homelessness occurring, Westminster must strengthen support systems to identify people at risk and give services time to step in before it happens.
“Homelessness doesn’t have to exist and with the right ambition and political will, we can end it for good.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today