The frontline of the UK housing crisis: ‘Our son is gone and we don’t think we’ll get him back until we have proper housing’

Northampton family says their housing has impacted son's mental health

By Natalie Bloomer

Whether it’s a lack of affordable housing, soaring private rents, poor quality homes, or the shortage of social housing the impact of the UK’s housing crisis is clearly visible. This is the story of one family at the forefront.

The small living room is also used as a bedroom and dining room

All names have been changed at the request of the family 

David and Mary’s living room is small by anyone’s standards. Yet, the single room which only just fits a small sofa, a round dining table and a TV is also used as a bedroom and a dining room. 

The sofa is where David sleeps at night and the table in front is where the couple and their three children eat and do their homework.

The rest of their home is no more spacious. The property is a typical terrace house in the Mounts area of Northampton - even in its original state it would be a modest sized home but having been turned into two flats, space is limited to say the least.

The family has five rooms in total and no outdoor space at all. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and a tiny kitchen which no more than one person can fit into at one time. When NN Journal visited last week Mary had to leave the food she was preparing just to allow us to step inside the room.

Bags of clothes are piled up in the bedrooms because there is no storage space and rubbish has to be kept in the kitchen and bathroom because there is nowhere to store it outside. The flat, which the family has rented for six years through a local estate agent, is cold in the winter and smells during the summer due to the rubbish.

They are not the only private renters to be living in conditions many would deem unacceptable. The English Housing Survey (EHS) estimated that in 2019, 23 per cent of private rental sector homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. 

In May the charity Shelter said there were two million private renters in England who were forced to accept poor rental conditions, with many experiencing issues such as mould, broken boilers, pests and electrical hazards. 17 per cent of those asked said they had to wait at least a month for the landlord or letting agency to fix a reported problem.

For David and Mary in Northampton, the conditions are having a severe impact on their family.

“It’s not a good place for a family, we’re really struggling. It has caused us a lot of problems as we can’t give each other space,” David says.

As this was only ever intended to be one home, noise travels easily between the two flats. 

“Even when the children are just walking upstairs the neighbours say they are making too much noise, once they complained because my son cheered after playing a game on the computer. It means they always have to be careful, they can’t relax,” Mary says.

While being cooped up inside during lockdown their eldest son John, 16, began to experience worsening mental health problems. Even before Covid the family suspected he had undiagnosed learning difficulties but they say being trapped inside such a small space led to his problems increasing. 

They are a migrant family and have found navigating the various systems which may have been able to help them difficult. 

“We have tried to get him help before but it has never happened. It was okay when he was younger as we could deal with it but as he has got bigger and stronger, it is more difficult. He just wants his own space, when he is upset he’ll lock himself in the bedroom because he doesn’t want us around him.”

Over the summer John became upset and injured David. The police were called and social services became involved. John was taken into temporary care to be assessed but the family say they were initially left with no information about where he was and how he was doing.

“We don’t understand what’s happening. We’ve seen him at church on a Sunday but he hasn’t been back home since that day. Our son is gone and we don’t think we’ll get him back until we have proper housing because it’s just not good for him here.”

The family say they have previously attempted to apply for social housing but have been unsuccessful. They both work but are in insecure low paid jobs and can’t afford to rent somewhere bigger.

Labour councillor Danielle Stone was asked by the family’s church to visit the family. She was shocked by the conditions she discovered. 

“These living conditions are so bad I believe they are a fire hazard and they have caused this family so much distress that their child has been taken away.

“How many more families are living like this? Do we even know? And if we don’t then why don’t we? It’s just not good enough.”

Cllr Stone has contacted various council departments about the family’s home. She discovered that planning permission was not granted for the change of use to two flats but because the work was carried out more than four years ago the local authority can take no action in that regard. However the day before NN Journal visited the home, the council carried out an inspection to review the conditions and said it will take action if necessary.