Poor housing is intimately linked with poor physical and mental health. It also comes with a heavy social cost, including an estimated bill of £600m a year for the NHS. For the children unfortunate enough to suffer at the hands of sub-standard accommodation, there is an increased risk of childhood illness, disability, behavioural and mental health problems, as well as a deadening impact on life chances. Housing conditions in the private rented sector are the worst of any type of housing. In a recent survey conducted by housing charity Shelter, more than 90% of environmental health officers said they had encountered cases of severe damp, mould, electrical or fire safety hazards in private properties they investigated in the last year. While most landlords maintain decent standards there is a minority at the bottom end of the private market that are getting away with letting properties that are unsafe and in appalling states of disrepair. Faced with chronic shortages of social housing and barriers to home ownership, private renting is fast becoming the only feasible option for increasing numbers of people in this country. The number of privately rented homes rose from 1.7 million (9.1% of the total tenure) in 1988 to 3.4 million (15.6%) in 2009-10. If current trends continue it will surpass 20% by 2020. Read more on the Guardian website.
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