Housing needs in Great Britain

Great Britain may have one of the world’s largest economies and an extensive programme of government-subsidised housing, but many people still endure difficult conditions in inadequate and substandard houses and flats.

That is why Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates homes in areas of high need around the country, as well as raising awareness of poverty housing worldwide, and raising funds to help build. To learn more about our work in Great Britain, please contact the community groups listed on the left.

Even though Britain has had a programme of social housing since the end of World War II that has attempted to cater for the needs of low-income families, the demand has always exceeded supply. Today, there are more than 700,000 households in which there are people on the waiting list for social housing.

Over a million houses in Britain are unfit to live in, and more than half a million families in Britain live in officially overcrowded housing. Excessive demand for housing in urban property hotspots and rural areas has priced ordinary families out of areas where jobs and services are readily available. In other areas, house prices have plummeted, leaving estates where no one can sell their homes and where no one wants to live.

Over 855,000 homes in Britain stand empty. Many are in terrible condition, in areas of high unemployment, high crime and no amenities. The need is not so much the street homeless, as the “hidden homeless,” people living with a roof over their heads, in totally inadequate shelter. Overcrowding, damp, lack of decent amenities, and poor supply of services are all characteristics of poverty housing in Britain.

One of the biggest difficulties in providing decent homes that low-income families can afford is that because land is in short supply, it is very expensive in the UK. HFHGB is beginning the process of consultation to overcome this problem while continuing to build for greatest need first and creating appropriate solutions for various special needs.

Read about Tina's life-changing experience as a Habitat for Humanity homeowner in London.