Our homes are key to our health. The bricks and mortar of our homes can provide a foundation for our health and wellbeing, whilst affordability and security offer financial stability that is essential for people and communities. Secure, affordable and accessible homes help us to grow and thrive, and should be available to all.
But there is a public health crisis in our homes. Policy changes in the UK housing system have turned homes from sources of good health and stability into places that make us sick, both in body and mind. Poor-quality housing, insecure tenancies and unaffordable rents mean that millions of people are unsafe at home.
This booklet sets out a brief history of housing policy in the UK, as it relates to the current housing and health crisis, and traces the relationship between the two. It then offers a vision for how we can achieve a just future with secure, healthy and affordable homes for all – which is not only possible, but essential to the future of our society.
This briefing sets out:
- The historical and social reasons behind the decimation of availability of social homes and standards across the housing market.
- Actions that will help address the housing crisis, and provide secure, affordable and decent homes for health.
This briefing is intended to provide key background information for health workers and others wanting to campaign and organise on these issues.
Use this alongside the messaging guide we produced with NEON, designed to help us communicate these problems clearly.
About Homes for Health
Homes should be a place of comfort, health and security. Instead, across the UK, homes have become sites of illness. They are rendered cold and damp by poor insulation and sky-high energy prices. They are insecure due to unaffordable rents, evictions, and poor-quality housing.
Medact’s Health for a Green New Deal and Economic Justice campaigns have come together in the fight to win healthy homes for all, as part of the wider struggles for climate, housing and economic justice. Our groups and members are getting organised to fight for healthy homes and win! Here we are sharing the tools we need to take action as health workers!
