Housing insecurity is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

. without being entirely

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

. Housing insecurity is associated with worse health outcomes and can be alleviated by increasing the housing supply, for example loosening

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

regulations.

Definition

Housing insecurity is defined as a precariousness regarding one's housing conditions, often including some or all of the following: * difficulty acquiring and keeping housing tenure; * being required to spend a high percentage of income on housing costs; * living in housing that is unsafe, unsanitary, or lacking in basic necessities; * living in housing that is overcrowed or overcapcity; * living with a domestic abuser, such as an abusive partner, parent, or guardian; and * being at risk of involuntary relocation, or being forced to relocate multiple times.

Background

High rent cost burden

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and u ...

uses the terms "cost burdened" and "severely cost burdened" to describe individuals or families that spend more than 30% and 50% of their income on housing costs, respectively. According to the 2020 U.S. census, 46% of American renters are cost burdened, with 23% severely cost burdened. one out of five in the United States who earn less than $25,000 per year have fallen behind on rent. Evidence from multiple fields of harmful effects from housing affordability constraints on parents’ mental health, children's cognitive functioning, and on child misbehaviour.

Low-quality and unsafe housing

Landlords may also fail housing quality standards inspections by neglecting to repair and maintain their property as required. An estimated 15% of rental units in the United States (over five million) have significant quality and safety issues (such as crumbling walls and vermin infestation) or lacked residential essentials, like heating equipment or running water. Consistent exposure to unsafe housing (e.g. dampness, poor ventilation, and unhygenic conditions) can lead to an increase in mold and other allergens that develop and aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma, the most common chronic health problem among children Broader hazard issues such as fire-risks and unsafe structures, can lead to fires or collapses causing injuries, and render a housing unit uninhabitable or condemned. Despite lead paint having been banned in the United States in the 1970s, lead paint is still present in some houses and how its a particularly prevalent issue in low-income, majority-minority neighborhoods, still contain lead paint. This is despite the increased risk of

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and paresthesia, t ...

, which has negative effects on children's cognitive development and executive function. Over-crowded housing can affect sleep, privacy, and adequate study space, as well as increasing risk of infection

Discrimination

By financial credit

In the United States it's common for landlords to discriminate according to potential renters by their

credit score A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bu ...

. People with poor or no credit are much more likely to get rejected when applying for a property.Landlords who don't discriminate based on credit score often rent out poorer quality houses.This issue is compounded by other forms of discrimination as marginalised people are more likely to suffer low credit.Additionally eviction can lead to a lower credit rating, thus risking a negative feedback loop.

Covid-19 pandemic

In the United Kingdom, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

exaserbated housing insecurity due to increased financial pressures due to employment precarity, reduction in informal accommodation due to isolation, and increased overcrowding issues. During the pandemic, there was a temporary ban on bailiff-enforced evictions, while housing rights organisations lobbied for more prolonged efforts in helping people with overdue rent. The

Joseph Rowntree Foundation The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is a charity that conducts and funds research aimed at solving poverty in the UK. JRF's stated aim is to "inspire action and change that will create a prosperous UK without poverty." Originally called the J ...

(JRF), warned of two-tier economic recovery from pandemic in which renters would be more at risk of long-term housing insecurity compared to homeowners. JRF also found that ethnic minorities, and low-income, and households with children have been most affected by pandemic debt and rent arrears. In the United States, the country's Federal government, as well as some US States enacted temporary bans on eviction during the pandemic.

Domestic abuse

Victims of domestic abuse are at an increased risk of housing insecurity. Likewise, those who have attempted to flee abuse situations are at increased risk of having to return to an abusive household due to housing insecurity. In England during 2022, over ten-thousand women fleeing abusive relationships were refused safe housing provisions.