One third of UK families are a month’s pay from losing homes, says Shelter

Survey reveals 37% of working families in England couldn’t cover costs of home for more than a month in event of job loss.

According to a study by Shelter, more than one in three families in England would be unable to pay housing costs if one partner lost their job,  while 23% of working families said they would be unable to pay their housing costs at all, highlighting the lack of affordable housing and a lack of savings per household.

For 48% of families, the cost of housing was the biggest drain on their budget.

Campbell Robb, the Chief Executive of Shelter, said: “These figures are a stark reminder that sky-high housing costs are leaving millions of working families stretched to breaking point and barely scraping by from one paycheque to the next.

“Any one of us could hit a bump along life’s road, and at Shelter, we speak to parents every day who, after losing their job or seeing their hours cut, are terrified of losing the roof over their children’s heads too.”

The charity is calling for an improved welfare safety net to help prevent families where someone loses a job, from becoming homeless.

Money saving expert, Martin Lewis says: “We should all have three to six months income saved away, so that we’re ready for an emergency”, however, he acknowledges that this is easier said than done, particularly with the Bank of England cutting to base rate to 0.25% recently.

One household owner said: “There’s never a cushion. You’d think if you were working, you’d be able to save a little bit every month, but it’s just not a possibility when paying for the basics is so expensive.”

The HomeLet Rental Index found that the rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK, excluding London, over the three months to the end of July were up by 2.3%, compared to the same period in 2015. In the capital, rents were up 4%.

It means average rents now stand at £779 per month while in London, they are at £1,599.

 

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