One in four may be unable to pay rent if jobless
A new report by the charity Shelter has shown that many families in England could lose their home if they lost their job due to the high cost of housing. According to the Shelter/YouGov survey, over a third could not afford to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job and have little or no personal savings to fall back on.
The study asked 8,381 adults, which included 1,581 working families with children, how long they could afford to pay their rent or mortgage from their savings if they lost their job and could not find work? They found that 37% would be unable to cover their housing costs for more than one month, while 23% would be unable to pay their housing costs at all if they lost their job.
Comment from Shelter's Chief Executive
Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: “These figures are a stark reminder that sky-high housing costs are leaving millions of working families stretched to breaking point and barely scraping by from one pay cheque to the next. In these uncertain times, the government has a real chance to show working families they're on their side, by protecting and improving our welfare safety net.”
Turn2us help: Helen’s story
After her husband Ken became seriously ill, Helen had to give up her job to care for him. After finding out that she was at risk of losing her home, Helen came to Turn2us to find out what financial support was available for her family.
Helen found out that her husband was eligible for Pension Credit. Even though it was only 10p per week, it meant they were able to receive support for interest on their mortgage repayment, which enabled them to stay in their home.
#BenefitsAware
The Turn2us #BenefitsAware campaign aims to help people in financial hardship access all the support available to them.
If you find yourself out of work, please visit our free and confidential Benefits Calculator - which always reflects the latest welfare changes, so anyone can check their current entitlements and how to make a claim. As there may be a waiting period for benefits, we highly recommend you start the process of claiming benefits as soon as you can.
Our Grants Search has almost 3,000 charitable funds listed and includes information on eligibility criteria and how to apply.
You can find further support on specific issues in the “Your Situation” section of our website. You can also find out how to add your voice to ours in getting this practical help to those who need it most.
Read more about this story on the Shelter website.