Homes for Health will be supported through one million pounds of People’s Health Trust resources, including almost £600,000 in grant funding which will be spread across ten projects. The programme is a collaboration between the Trust and experts from housing, community, and racial justice charities, delivering projects that respond to the growing problem of unfit private and social rented homes and their effects on tenants’ physical and mental health.

The programme aims to connect the issues of housing and health in communities across England, Scotland and Wales and comes at an important time for tenants. In 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died due to exposure to black mould in his family’s social rented home. His death and the many other cases of ill health linked to living conditions are avoidable. People’s Health Trust believes that no one’s health should be negatively affected by where they live.

According to the funder, having a safe, secure and comfortable home is a critical building block of health, but it is not available to everyone. It said that people on low incomes, disabled people, and people from communities experiencing racial inequity are disproportionately affected by poor-quality homes, which further entrenches health inequalities. In 2021, 14% of privately rented homes and 4% of social rented homes in England contained a category one hazard, for example, severe damp and mould and excess cold. In Wales, 32% of households lived in homes with a hazard in 2020 and in Scotland in 2019, 30% of private rented homes and 20% of social rented homes had urgent disrepair to one or more critical elements.

Speaking on the launch of Homes for Health, People’s Health Trust’s chief executive, John Hume, said: “Too many private rented and social housing homes in Great Britain are not fit for purpose, with widespread damp, mould and other serious hazards which harm the health of millions of tenants.

“Some of the most marginalised members of our communities are subjected to health-altering conditions, over which they have little or no control. Our investment in Homes for Health seeks to demonstrate how local communities can work together with housing and health partners to create positive change to improve living conditions and, ultimately, their health and wellbeing.”

The organisations receiving funding through Homes for Health are housing specialists ACORN and Living Rent; community organisers Citizens UK; local community charities Community Renewal Trust and Edberts House; and community organisations addressing racial justice, Caribbean & African Health Network and Leeds Muslim Youth Forum.

In Scotland, the projects are:

• Community Renewal Trust – Govanhill, Glasgow
• Living Rent – Lochend, Restalrig and Craigentinny, Edinburgh
• Living Rent – Knightswood, Glasgow

Community Renewal Trust’s chief executive John Halliday said: “We are delighted to be involved with the Homes for Health programme. We work in a community in Govanhill, Glasgow with a high number of families, especially migrants, living in unsuitable damp, poorly insulated and overcrowded tenement housing.

“Every year we meet hundreds of vulnerable people whose health is directly affected, but we can offer limited options to address the systemic issues of housing. Collaborating with local partners, we are hoping to explore new community-led ways to address this through collective social action. We are sure that over time, we can make an impact on the physical and mental health of local residents, with a particular focus on Govanhill’s Roma.”

Elli Folkesson, chair of Living Rent, added: “Being part of the Homes for Health programme is supporting our work in fighting for secure, quality, affordable housing for everyone. This funding is allowing us to continue to build strength in our communities and ensure that tenants are more resilient to the ongoing economic and social challenges.

“Safe, quality, affordable housing is crucial in ensuring tenants’ health and wellbeing. We have all seen the impact that poor quality housing has on our health: from mould and damp exacerbating lung conditions and inhibiting child development, to the poor mental health that comes from insecure housing. Our access to good quality housing is vital in feeling safe and secure and with this support from People’s Health Trust, we will continue to campaign for quality homes for tenants to improve health.”

Homes for Health projects are expected to last 21 months. Activities are co-produced with communities with the focus on housing conditions, and will include one or more of the following:

• Community organising or similar approaches
• Collective action to address poor private or social landlord practices
• Campaigning to raise awareness of particular issues
• Partnering with local agencies and service providers.