Safe Homes Now campaign launched by the Centre for Ageing Better

Launched in the House of Commons reception today, nine charities led by the Centre for Ageing Better (CAB) have initiated a new campaign calling for “meaningful government action” to improve the quality of the country’s worst homes as a preventative strategy to help protect the nation’s health. The campaign is calling for a national strategy to tackle the poor quality of the country’s homes. It claims currently 8 million people live in 3.7 million dangerous homes that are cold, in need of repair, or have serious hazards.

Polling commissioned by the CAB reveals that more than half of people (52%) say government should be doing more to support people in ensuring their homes are in a good condition. Furthermore, it also indicates that:

• More than half of people (54%) say that it has become more difficult to keep their home warm over the past two years
• Two in five people (39%) say that it has become more difficult to keep their home in a good state of repair in the same time frame
• One in four people (25%) say that is has become more difficult to keep their home free from hazards and defects over the past two years

According to the CAB, the solution to resolving the national crisis of dangerous homes is the establishment of a national network of local one-stop shops called Good Home Hubs (opens new window). These would offer advice on home repairs and adaptations, including where to find trusted tradespeople, identifying what work needs to be done, how to finance repairs, and improve energy efficiency.

More about the Safe Homes Now campaign here (opens new window).