Living in bad housing ruins your health, education and futures chances in life.

Shelter has access to case studies of people and families in bad housing from across the country. Below are some examples of the cases that have come to our Housing Aid Centres.

Please contact the media team in the first instance to discuss your needs.

Shelter also has broadcast-quality stock footage of children and families living in bad housing. The following shots are available:

• Family in severe overcrowding.
• Homeless family in poor quality and crowded temporary accommodation.
• Stills of children living in an unhealthy flat, struggling to study in cramped conditions and being bullied.

Melissa - overcrowding

Single mum Melissa is forced to share a bed with her youngest child whilst her 3 other sons squeeze into their only other bedroom. Until recently the boys didn’t even have their own beds. This chronic level of overcrowding is seriously harming the family’s health and education – the boys have nowhere to do their homework and are frequently missing school through illnesses which are highly contagious in their tiny cramped flat.

Michelle - temporary accommodation

When Michelle began to fear for children’s safety she left her violent partner and moved into TA. The flat is rife with mice and cockroaches, damp and frequently without heating and hot water. The children often miss school due to stress and ill health. Michelle has experienced serious medical problems, including recently having a miscarriage.

Liza - bad housing

The mould in Liza’s flat has attacked everything – the windows, floors, walls; even their bed, which they have had to replace twice in the last year. It has now affected her young daughter, who is suffering from respiratory problems. In their tiny home she has to share her parent’s bed and has no space to walk in their 10ft sq living room. Shelter's own research has found that people in damp housing are twice as likely to suffer from asthma.