Poverty, wealth and housing status

What this means 

Someone’s financial status can affect how they feel about their home. This may be due to how they are able to heat it or care for it, or their security of tenure. It may also have a direct physical and psychological effect on their wellbeing. As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, particularly around inflation and energy costs, this issue is in sharp focus. It has also exacerbated longer-standing issues such as the affordability and availability of housing. 

This isn’t getting any better, is it? There are no signs that it is getting any better at all. 

How do you think the cost of living crisis has affected home and housing? 

Dave Bracher talks about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on home and housing for disabled people in this video:

The research 

According to the 2023 Joseph Rowntree Foundation publication UK Poverty Statistics, poverty is frequently higher for disabled people than the general population – with figures consistently showing around 30% of disabled people living in poverty (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2023a). Analysis by Scope (2023) has found a ‘disability price tag’ of an extra £975 a month for households with at least one disabled adult or child, to have the same standard of living as households with no disabled adults. 

Housing tenure is strongly predictive of living standards for several interacting factors, with renters’ poverty rates far higher than owner-occupiers (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2023b). Therefore, if a disabled person rents in the social housing or private rented sector, they are far more likely to live in poverty.  

Disabled people are likely to spend more time at home and have increased power needs, whether for heating, equipment use, or specialist food/medication storage (Lee et al., 2022). As people reach older age, or their mobility reduces, body temperature lowers and it becomes harder for people to regulate their body temperature. This may also be the case for younger disabled people – for example, those with cerebral palsy will often feel colder in their hands and feet (McCabe et al., 2022).  

Lower body temperature may be an issue for those at the end of life, and it is also associated with the build-up of markers for dementia. Those already living with dementia may be at greater risk from cold homes, because of difficulties in communication, or people finding it hard to recognise how cold they are (Lee et al., 2022; Shiue, 2016). 

The safety of disabled and older people at home may also be an issue (Satsangi et al., 2018), particularly if that person is also living in poverty. Mackintosh and Frondigoun (2022) found that 54% of housing association tenants live with an illness or are disabled, and 18% of all people who begin a housing tenancy live with an illness or are disabled. In the Grenfell Tower fire, 41% of those who died were disabled, with residents telling the Grenfell Inquiry that the local authority had refused to discuss evacuation plans with disabled residents in the event of an emergency. If people do not think they’ll be safe in an emergency, they won’t feel at home. Any support to address people’s fears of an emergency, however small, are highly valued (Satsangi et al., 2018). 

Housing status, as well as household wealth, has a considerable impact on how people can heat their homes. This is particularly true when living in the private rented sector – a tenant is unlikely to have control over how well their home is insulated for instance, or even whether it’s fitted with a pre-payment energy meter, which works out as more expensive than traditional bills (Ambrose, McCarthy & Pinder, 2016). This makes issues such as insulation similar to the inequalities experienced around adaptations, which may be expensive and out of the budget of those who would really benefit. 

Renting privately, with the lack of protections it affords, holds the threat of being evicted at short notice (this is particularly the case for Black and ethnic minoritised people, who experience significantly higher eviction rates than white renters) (Rogaly et al., 2021). While there is a correlation between age and renting, there are particular issues for older renters, such as distance or isolation from services – but there can also be resilience, with older renters who have been in the area for a long time drawing strength from their attachment to place and community (Bates et al., 2019). The lack of security can deeply affect wellbeing (Harris & McKee, 2021), even (and perhaps especially) if housing adaptations are in place, because of the worries of starting all over again. 

What you can do 

If you are in direct practice: Support disabled people to know their rights in terms of housing and financial support. Ensure that people with care and support needs, and those who support them, receive every benefit they are entitled to. In addition, ensure that everyone has claimed any Cost of Living support that’s available. 

There may be additional issues for older people – particularly given the potential links between cold homes and the risks to people living with dementia. Is temperature and body warmth explicitly considered when working with older people?  

To provide more general support in housing rights, share the toolkit designed especially for disabled people from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It includes information on renting in the social housing and private rental sectors. There is also an Easy Read version. 

Ensure you read and understand these toolkits yourself, so you can support people to understand their rights when it comes to housing.  

If you are in policy or senior management: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has created Housing and disabled people: A toolkit for local authorities in England. It contains extensive practical guidelines for providing and managing housing adaptations, the allocation of housing, planning for accessible homes, strategic planning, and supporting tenants. When thinking about poverty and inequality in homes for people with care and support needs, you may find it particularly helpful to use the ‘Gap Analysis’ in the Tenancy Support toolkit. 

Further information 

Shelter has many advice guides for everyone, no matter what their housing or financial status. This includes information on eviction, homelessness, repairs and repossession. There is also an emergency helpline and webchat for direct help.