At the same time, London is facing an unprecedented housing emergency, with social housing waiting lists at a ten-year high. Families such as Danielle’s are growing more desperate by the day. In the last nine months, their lives have been turned completely upside down. After a section 21 “no fault” eviction order from her landlord, Danielle and her three children have moved four times, each relocation presenting its own challenges.
Despite these efforts, their local council—a Conservative council—has housed Danielle’s family in a temporary home 18 miles away from their school. The lengthy commute has her kids waking up at 5 a.m. They must leave at an unreasonable hour just to make it to class on time. The UK government recently promised to invest £39 billion in building new council and other social and affordable housing in England over the next ten years. Many families remain wary of witnessing tangible changes to their new homes.
New Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled pretty thrilling new plans. She will be sorely tested to achieve the government’s pledge of building 1.5 million new homes over this parliamentary term. Danielle still doesn’t believe enough council homes will be ready in time. Her wish was that with the government’s announcement there would be better opportunities for her children in the years to come. She continued, “I don’t want to have to wait on a council house coming up the queue.”
Danielle’s family were also forced to move into an overcrowded shared home. They are increasingly taking up residence in hotel rooms due to the lack of available social housing. This insecurity and unpredictability has taken a toll on her children’s health. They are always having to change environments on the fly. “It’s been awful, absolute hell. It’s turned all of our lives upside down. My children are constantly having to readapt,” Danielle stated regarding her family’s ordeal.
Housing advocates and researchers alike have called for better targeted policy solutions in response to the housing crisis. Shelters head of policy, Charlie Trew, hailed the importance of the government’s funding announcement. While this is a positive step, he noted it does not lay out plans for a single social rent home. He noted that ‘affordable housing’ is a term often used disingenuously. In practice, however, most of these homes are simply too expensive for low-income individuals to afford. He urged the government to focus funding on social rent to ensure that the cash delivers genuinely affordable homes tied to local incomes.
Kate Henderson, head of the National Housing Federation, described the government’s announcement as “transformational” and characterized it as “the most ambitious Affordable Homes Programme we’ve seen in decades.” In that regard, her testimony is indicative of growing optimism among housing advocates. They hope that this funding will make a big difference in the work to end the housing crisis.
Neil Jefferson, CEO at the Home Builders Federation, echoed these sentiments by underscoring the need for swift and effective implementation of the funding plans. Our circumstances are critical. Families like Danielle’s are living in limbo as they prepare to move while trying to get a foothold on more permanent options.
