Four in ten homes throughout the North West do not meet the criteria for an acceptable home, according to new ground-breaking research.
The landmark report, which is comparable to the Living Wage, was conducted by homeless charity Shelter in conjunction with British Gas.
The ‘Living Home Standard’ found that residents in the North West citing affordability as the biggest complaint.
The report drew on five select criteria to emphasise what people in modern-day Britain believed was necessary for a home in order to live, as opposed to just get by. These included affordability, decent conditions, stability, space and neighbourhood.
Failing one or more of these criteria means a home cannot be deemed as acceptable.
After affordability, decency was criticised the most by North West residents.
Neighbourhoods, however, were criticised the least, with 4% of people citing that their housing vicinity was either impractical or unsafe to live in.
UNACCEPTABLE: Too many people in the North West are unable to afford decent living conditions, much to the anger of Shelter and British Gas
In light of the findings, Shelter Manchester’s service manager John Ryan said: “At Shelter Manchester we know all too well that a home is much more than bricks and mortar – it’s a place that should allow us to live and thrive, rather than just get by.
“When Shelter was founded fifty years ago, it was with the hope that one day everyone would have access to a place they can truly call home.
“But the sad truth is that every day we speak to people in North West living in homes that just aren’t up to scratch – from renting families forced to cope with poor conditions, to all those struggling to keep up with their sky high housing costs.”
British Gas has been working alongside Shelter for five years to help improve conditions in the private rented sector.
Sarwjit Sambhi, managing director of UK Home at British Gas, said: “As we move towards a future where technology will play a greater role in our daily lives, the fact that many people do not even have basic levels of safety, comfort and security is unacceptable.”
