Multiple long-term conditions

Minimising health risks from evictions and rental insecurity

We're supporting households at risk of eviction and ill-health whose income has been hit by the pandemic.

Key partnership information

Partners: Kineara and Southwark Law Centre

Funding amount: up to £260,000

Duration: August 2020 – March 2021

Programme: multiple long-term conditions

What we’re doing together

We are building a holistic support offer that prevents people losing their homes, delivers a better deal for private landlords and protects working-age adults whose income has been hit by the pandemic. We will prioritise those who live in our target neighbourhoods, are at risk of developing long-term health conditions and face an immediate threat of eviction.

Our programme of assistance will include support for wellbeing, mental health, employment support, coaching, income maximisation and mediation between tenants and their landlords.

We have partnered with Southwark Law Centre to provide a full-time, specialist lawyer with expertise in the private rented sector. The lawyer will provide technical support, greater representation in court cases and provide a direct referral route for households who have other legal requirements, such as immigration matters.

Aims of the partnership

Preventing tenancies for our target cohort in the private rented sector ending wherever possible
Providing a range of support, including mental health interventions, legal aid and financial advice, to people and households at risk or experiencing evictions
Growing our knowledge on the practical ways we can influence the impact precarious housing can have on ill-health

Connection to our strategy

Research from The Health Foundation shows that changes to people’s economic circumstances during the Coronavirus pandemic are having a strong impact on their physical and mental health, and the group most likely to have trouble meeting their rent obligations are households who have moved onto Universal Credit during the quarantine period. Across our boroughs, the number of universal credit claimants more than doubled between February and May.

Proportion of employees at risk of losing their job following COVID-19

Housing and health are directly related – precarious housing greatly increases the risk of ill-health and unhealthy housing leads to respiratory, cardiovascular and mental health problems. Those in the most precarious housing situations live with the highest health inequalities: over half of people in temporary accommodation experience a worsening of their physical and mental health.

We also know that the issue of precarious housing has a disproportionate effect on low income Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups – nationally, 31% of BAME households are in the private rented sector, compared to 15% of their white neighbours, and in our place in Lambeth and Southwark, Black residents are also more likely to have less secure employment and more likely to have a long-term health condition.

Almost a quarter of all households in Southwark are in privately rented accommodation. We are focussing on private renters because we believe this is where the absence of support is most clearly felt.

About our partners

Kineara are a social enterprise working in housing, education, employment and research. The Southwark Law Centre provides access to justice for people in need, primarily in Southwark.

Kineara Southwark Law Centre