Exhibiting Furniture Flex at Housing Conferences – 22nd October 2024 – Credit: EFP
The #MakeaHouseaHome campaign is fighting for 10% of all social housing stock to be furnished, to move people into homes rather than empty boxes.
The Campaign
Living in furniture poverty can have a devastating impact on your physical and mental health, and your social and financial wellbeing, yet over 6 million people in the UK are living without essential furniture and appliances, floor and window coverings.
26% of social housing tenants live in furniture poverty, and 8% are in “deep furniture poverty,” living without three or more essential items, yet only 2% of social homes are let as furnished, compared to 29% in the private rental sector.
#MakeaHouseaHome campaigns for at least 10% of social homes to be furnished, lifting thousands of people out of furniture poverty, providing them with the essential items they desperately need.
They have developed a cost neutral furniture scheme to help landlords to introduce furnished tenancies. End Furniture Poverty and Furniture Flex work directly with landlords, arrange housing summits to bring landlords together, and are lobbying Government to ask for the 10% target to be mandatory.
Make a House a Home Parliamentary Event – 13th November 2024 – Credit: EFP
“We are delighted to receive this nomination from SMK as it helps to raise awareness of the devastating impact furniture poverty has on people’s lives, but it also highlights the solution for social housing tenants. We still have much work to do but we know that together, we will end furniture poverty.”
Claire Donovan
Executive Director, End Furniture Poverty
The Change
#MakeaHouseaHome has focused on a three-pronged approach:
- working locally with individual landlords.
- regionally with groups of landlords.
- campaigning nationally to raise awareness and build support.
They held a successful housing summit in Liverpool and nearly all of the local social landlords have pledged to furnish at least 10% of their housing stock. Social landlords across the UK are getting in touch and four have already signed up to Furniture Flex with a further 10 due to sign up in the next 12 months, and 10% of their combined stock means furnishing the homes of 344,000 tenants.
The team has met with dozens of MPs, and the Homelessness Minister Rushanara Ali to discuss the 10% target being included in the new Decent Homes Standard, held events in Parliament, and have featured across national and housing media.
What’s next?
#MakeaHouseaHome will continue to help landlords to set up new furnished tenancy schemes and are building a library of resources to share the expertise and experience of landlords with existing schemes to unblock barriers within organisations.
#MakeaHouseaHome is in discussions about Housing Summits in the West Midlands, South Gloucestershire, and they are working with Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester. They continue to recruit local advocates to help them set up more summits across the UK.
They are holding a round table event in Parliament to highlight the impact of moving into unfurnished properties on survivors of domestic abuse and plan future events focusing on a range of issues, always looking for different ways to build support and drive change.
Who else was involved?
End Furniture Poverty, FRC Group, Andrew Waters, Furniture Flex team, Onward Homes, North Tyneside Council, Karbon Homes and Torus, the Public Health team at Liverpool City Council, MP Danny Beales, Inside Housing magazine, Chartered Institute of Housing.
