UK temporary accommodation is violating children’s rights

The UK government is failing in its duty to ensure the right to adequate housing for homeless families, finds Human Rights Watch and the Childhood Trust in a joint report.

The report examines how families across London are being places in poor quality and uninhabitable accommodation, significantly violating their rights.

The human rights organisations conclude that the situation is due to a combination of reduced funding for local authorities, austerity-motivated cuts to the welfare system and a lack of affordable permanent housing.

Alex Firth, Senior Coordinator at Human Rights Watch, said: ‘The government needs to urgently address this hidden aspect of the housing crisis by reducing reliance on temporary accommodation and tackling the issue of housing unfit for families to live in.

‘If the government is really committed to its agenda of “levelling up” every part of the UK, then giving families a safe and decent home to live in should be the foundation of its efforts.’

Between May and October 2021, Human Rights Watch interviewed 75 people, including 33 who were either currently living in, or had recently left, temporary accommodation in various boroughs across London.

People interviewed described conditions including toxic mould, cold temperatures, and a lack of adequate space in their temporary accommodation. These poor conditions constitute a violation of the right to adequate housing and children’s rights to an adequate standard of living.

In Lambeth, Amaka L., a pregnant mother with three boys, ages four, seven, and nine, lived for six months in 2020 in a studio flat. The room was so small that they all had to share a double bed.

She said the situation deteriorated when the pandemic started: ‘It was very, very hard for me in that small flat. The council just put me there and left me. When Covid started I saw hell.’

In related news, 60% of all homeless adults living in temporary accommodation in England are women, despite only making up 51% of the general population, new analysis by Shelter shows.

Photo by Trym Nilsen