Nicholas Pleace writes that the effect of the pandemic on homeless people should be seen as part of a wider problem – that of inadequate housing. He argues that if UK society is to be more resilient in the wake of this crisis, good housing should stop being seen as a privilege only the rich can afford

Pleace, Nicholas

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LSE Research Online

Homelessness, bad housing, and the virus: a decent home should be every citizen’s rightLSE Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/104908/Version: Published VersionOnline resource:Pleace, Nicholas (2020) Homelessness, bad housing, and the virus: a decent home should be every citizen’s right. British Politics and Policy at LSE (19 May 2020). Blog Entry. lseresearchonline@lse.ac.ukhttps://eprints.lse.ac.uk/ ReuseItems deposited in LSE Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the LSE Research Online record for the item.Homelessness,	bad	housing,	and	the	virus:	a	decenthome	should	be	every	citizen’s	rightNicholas	Pleace	writes	that	the	effect	of	the	pandemic	on	homeless	people	should	be	seen	as	partof	a	wider	problem	–	that	of	inadequate	housing.	He	argues	that	if	UK	society	is	to	be	more	resilientin	the	wake	of	this	crisis,	good	housing	should	stop	being	seen	as	a	privilege	only	the	rich	canafford.We	are	living	through	what	may	be	a	very	brief	period	of	coronavirus	collectivism.	Big	governmenthas	suddenly	remerged	as	the	solution	–	not	necessarily	as	effective	or	coherent	as	it	could	be,	butas	the	only	way	to	deal	with	an	existential	threat	that	free	markets	cannot	cope	with.The	virus	response	around	homelessness	in	particular	has	looked	like	disaster	management,	using	hotels	to	clearthe	streets	of	‘rough	sleepers’	and,	with	overseas	support,	trying	to	enable	social	isolation	and	treatment.	Positivethings	have	happened,	like	accelerating	central	government’s	existing	objective	to	end	‘rough	sleeping’	given	theopportunities	presented	to	rehouse	‘people	living	rough’	who	have	been	placed	in	hotels	because	of	the	virus,	butthese	responses	need	some	scrutiny	to	be	properly	understood.Responses	to	COVID-19	are	in	relation	to	a	particular	image	of	homelessness	as	being	the	lone	man	on	the	street,addicted,	mentally	ill,	alienated	and	deeply	excluded	from	mainstream	social	and	economic	life	and	quite	possiblyinvolved	in	criminal	activity.	In	other	words,	the	‘rough	sleeper’.	This	is	a	picture	that	is	confused,	because	the	linebetween	deviance,	criminality	(underserving	of	public	assistance)	and	sickness	(deserving	of	assistance)	is	blurred,not	least	when	someone	is	both	addicted	and	has	a	severe	mental	illness.	The	image	of	the	rough	sleeper	is	notneutral.	The	imagery	of	‘homelessness’	is	someone	who	is	very	different	from	the	rest	of	us	and	that	is	why	they	arehomeless,	rather	than	say,	not	having	enough	money	to	live	on	in	a	country	where	in-work	poverty	is	experiencedby	millions	of	people.There	are	people	living	on	the	street	with	high	and	complex	needs,	who	are	experiencing	a	unique	form	of	distress.However,	if	homelessness	means	the	absence	of	any	living	space	that	is	under	your	control,	which	is	physicallysafe,	and	to	which	you	have	enforceable	legal	rights	–	which	has	been	the	broad	definition	under	the	UK’shomelessness	laws	–	then	things	look	very	different.If	homelessness	means	a	woman	with	her	own	home,	who	has	to	leave	because	she	is	threatened	by	domesticviolence	and	abuse,	or	someone	staying	with	friends,	relatives	or	acquaintances,	because	they	have	no	home	oftheir	own	and	cannot	secure	one,	then	rough	sleeping	becomes	a	fraction	of	total	homelessness.	There	were	atleast	4,000-5,000	people	living	rough	in	England	at	any	one	point	in	late	2019.	This	was	almost	certainly	anundercount,	as	people	hide,	not	all	areas	are	covered,	and	anyone	having	to	squat	in	the	absence	of	any	otherhousing	is	missed.	Yet	at	around	the	same	time,	there	were	62,280	statutorily	homeless	families	containing	127,890statutorily	homeless	children	in	temporary	accommodation	in	England	alone.The	evidence	says	statutorily	homeless	families	do	not	have	rates	of	severe	mental	illness,	or	addiction	that	differfrom	the	general	population.	Homeless	families	are	disproportionately	headed	by	economically	marginalisedwomen,	whose	homelessness	has	frequently	been	triggered	by	domestic	violence,	and	they	share	one,	commoncharacteristic:	being	poor.The	virus	has	put	a	magnifying	glass	on	homelessness,	but	as	something	within	a	broader	problem	of	many	peopleliving	in	small,	overcrowded,	low-quality	homes.	That	problem	stems	from	the	innate	inefficiency	of	housing	marketswhen	it	comes	to	providing	adequate,	affordable	homes,	from	allowing	a	system	that	commodifies	the	basic	humanneed	for	adequate	shelter	and	is	one	of	the	major	mechanisms	by	which	the	huge	inequalities	in	wealth	in	oursociety	is	generated.	It	is	clear	that	the	virus	is	killing	more	people	in	deprived	areas	in	which	the	built	environmentis	degraded	and	within	the	overcrowded	housing	in	which	poorer	people	are	more	likely	to	live.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Homelessness, bad housing, and the virus: a decent home should be every citizen’s right Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2020-05-19Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/homelessness-and-covid19/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Someone	living	rough	cannot	self-isolate	and	cannot	socially	distance,	neither	can	a	homeless	person	living	in	whatis	often	communal	or	congregate	emergency	shelters	or	temporary	supported	housing	for	homeless	people.	Ahomeless	family	cannot	socially	distance	effectively	in	temporary	accommodation	with	shared	common	areas,	likekitchens	and	bathrooms.	Expected	infection	rates	in	homelessness	services,	based	on	initial	work	from	the	USA,are	astronomical.	Still,	the	effect	of	the	virus	on	homeless	people	is	but	one	extreme	aspect	of	a	much	widerproblem:	that	COVID-19	will	kill	more	badly-housed	people.	Research	shows	how	the	top	five	most-crowded	areasin	the	UK	have	seen	70%	more	coronavirus	cases	than	the	five	least-crowded.	Ultimately,	if	the	UK	is	to	managethe	virus	and	lessen	the	risks	of	something	like	this	happening	again,	everyone	needs	their	own	adequate,affordable,	secure	home.Housing	markets	will	never,	ever,	deliver	enough	affordable	housing.	Instead,	they	deliver	slums,	which	is	whypolicies	to	develop	council	and	social	housing	arose.	Attempts	at	quasi-market	solutions,	such	as	‘affordable’housing	development	by	housing	associations	and	low-cost	home	ownership	have	never	delivered	enough	nor	trulyaffordable	homes	–	and	they	never	will.	Serious	mistakes	were	made	with	council	housing	development	over	thedecades,	but	the	UK	learned	from	those	mistakes	and	also	got	a	lot	right.	If	the	UK	is	to	be	a	better,	as	well	as	amuch	more	socially	and	economically	resilient	society	in	the	wake	of	the	virus,	it	is	time	to	revisit	mass	publiclyfunded	development	of	social	housing.	We	should	see	an	adequate	home	just	as	we	see	medical	treatment:	asevery	citizen’s	right,	not	as	something	that	only	the	rich	can	afford.___________________About	the	AuthorNicholas	Pleace	is	Director	of	the	Centre	for	Housing	Policy	and	Professor	of	Social	Policy	at	theUniversity	of	York.			All	articles	posted	on	this	blog	give	the	views	of	the	author(s),	and	not	the	position	of	LSE	British	Politics	and	Policy,nor	of	the	London	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.	Featured	image	credit:	by	Sharon	McCutcheon	onUnsplash.	British Politics and Policy at LSE: Homelessness, bad housing, and the virus: a decent home should be every citizen’s right Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2020-05-19Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/homelessness-and-covid19/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

Homelessness, bad housing, and the virus: a decent home should be every citizen’s right

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Homelessness, bad housing, and the virus: a decent home should be every citizen’s right

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