The new campaign is calling on government to halve over the next decade the 3.7 million dangerous homes in this country.
We believe this is achievable but only if the housing quality crisis in this country is tackled with the urgency, priority and resource that it warrants.
At the moment, housing policy is drifting with no sense of purpose how to tackle this really key issue.
In fact, resources needed to tackle the problem are dwindling. Our research has shown that more than £2 billion has been withdrawn in private sector grant support over the past decade – money that could have funded the repair of 600,000 homes.
We have now reached an absurd position where more money is spent maintaining the Houses of Parliament than the rest of the nation’s privately-rented and owner-occupied homes combined.
We are calling for a national strategy to tackle the poor quality of the country’s homes because this issue is too big and too important to be resolved with piecemeal, ad-hoc solutions. It needs long-term thinking and planning.
And we believe people need greater access to reliable information and support to maintain their homes.
Our campaign polling has revealed that among people requiring home repairs in the past two years who hadn’t been able to have the work done, more than half (57%) said it was because it was too expensive.
A further one in five people (19%) could not find the right person for the job.
The Centre for Ageing Better believes the solution is the establishment of a national network of local one-stop shops called Good Home Hubs.
Good Home Hubs would offer advice on home repairs and adaptations including where to find trusted tradespeople, identifying what work needs to be done, how to finance repairs and improve energy efficiency.
Our polling indicates more than one in two people (57%) would likely use a Good Home Hub if it was available in their area.
We believe government should pilot the Good Home Hub model in 50 areas for at least two years to see the difference it could make to people’s homes and to their lives.
Everybody has the right to their own home, sweet home. For millions, this remains an unachievable pipe dream. That has to change.
This article first appeared in Inside Housing.
To find out more about the Safe Homes Now campaign and how to get involved, contact [email protected]
Initial members of the Safe Homes Now campaign are: Centre for Ageing Better, Asthma and Lung UK, Barnardo’s, Impact on Urban Health, Independent Age, Nationwide Foundation, Race Equality Foundation, The Runnymede Trust and St John Ambulance.