More Than 1 In 4 Brits Live In Homes That Could Make Them Ill

• New research commissioned by Health Equals has revealed that 15 million people in the UK live in homes with issues like damp, mould or cold.
• Those from low-income households, renters and the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber are particularly affected 
• These issues are known causes of respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms,  depression and anxiety 
• Good quality housing is a key building block of our health. Health Equals and its members are calling for a cross-government Health Inequalities Strategy to make health equal across the UK

Data released on 27th October 2025 by Health Equals, the UK’s campaign to improve health inequalities, has revealed that 28% of people in the UK report living in homes with damp, mould or cold. This rises to 42% of people in the West Midlands and 39% in Yorkshire and the Humber. 

The nationally representative survey of 3,982 people in October 2025 also showed that some people are much more affected by these health-harming issues than others. 

People from the lowest income households are almost twice as likely to live in homes with issues like damp or mould (21% vs 12%), and four times as likely to live in a cold home (25% vs 6%) than the highest income households.  

21% of renters have issues like damp or mould, rising to 23% for those in rented social housing. And almost half (47%) of households with issues like damp or mould had children living in them.  

Being exposed to damp, cold and mould for a long time can cause or worsen existing conditions like asthma, cause other respiratory symptoms like coughing and wheezing, cardiovascular issues like heart palpitations, and mental health conditions like stress, anxiety and depression. At their worst, like in the tragic case of Awaab Ishak, non-decent housing can cause death. 

Almost half (47%) of people who have experienced issues like damp or mould have reported symptoms caused by it, like respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms, depression and anxiety for someone in their household. 61% of these said someone in their home required medical treatment for their symptoms, rising to 75% for people living in Greater London, and 71% in the North East of England. 28% said they themselves had to miss work as a result, and 31% said their children had missed school. 

Dr Andy Whittamore, a practising GP and Clinical Lead at Asthma + Lung UK, member of Health Equals, said:  

No one should have to live in a home that harms their health, yet as this new research shows, that is the reality for millions of people in the UK. Living in damp or mouldy housing puts people living with chronic lung conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at risk of life-threatening flare-ups and means they are more likely to need emergency care. Long-term exposure to mould can also cause lung conditions like asthma in previously healthy individuals. 

Poor lung health has the closest link with deprivation of all the major health conditions. In fact, poverty is driving poor lung health to such an extent in the UK that, shamefully, we have the highest death rate in Europe for respiratory conditions. It’s high time for urgent government action to protect the health of the most vulnerable people in our society, ensuring everyone can stay warm and well at home.

Health Equals is supporting its expert members in calling for the government to: 

• Apply Awaab’s Law so all landlords must respond promptly to life-threatening hazards, not just social landlords.  
• Phase in and enforce the Decent Home Standard across all private rented homes before 2035. Renters shouldn’t have to live in unhealthy homes for another decade. 
• Introduce the Warm Homes Plan to slash fuel poverty, improve warmth and repair homes for those most in need.  
• Set a cross-government target to halve the number of ‘non-decent’ homes across all tenures and regions of the UK over the next decade.? ??  

Lives are being cut short in the UK by up to 16 years, fuelled by unequal access to the building blocks of good health which are things like the air we breathe, the money in our pockets, the work we do and, as this data shows – the homes we live in. 

Paul McDonald, Chief Campaigns Officer at Health Equals, said:  

Issues like damp, cold and mould aren’t just eyesores or inconveniences – they’re real and serious threats to health. And our latest data reveals the vast scale of this problem across the UK. Millions of people’s health is being put at risk every day, just from being in their own home. 

The reality is that these issues are not felt evenly across the UK. People from lower income households, renters and those in certain regions of the country are worse affected. Inequalities like this are cutting lives short.   

This is not just a housing crisis, it’s a health crisis. Awaab’s Law, brought into force today, is an important milestone, and this data shows we need to go further. We need to see a cross-government health inequalities strategy that prioritises prevention, sets ambitious targets and makes better health a shared goal for every part of government.

Paul Waugh, MP for Rochdale, said:  

Decent homes are as essential to our health as the food we eat, the jobs we work in, and the communities we belong to. The tragic story of Awaab Ishak from my constituency is proof of just how severe the consequences can be when non-decent housing is left unchecked.  

Awaab’s law, brought into force today, should ensure that stories like Awaab’s will never be repeated in social homes in Rochdale, or anywhere else. But this data from Health Equals reveals that over a third of people in the North West are living in homes that could make them ill, shows we have more work to do. That’s why I’m proud to be a Health Equals Parliamentary Champion, working to put the building blocks of health at the heart of national policy-making and  ultimately, Make Health Equal.

While Health Equals’ findings highlight the national scale of poor-quality housing, the situation is often worse for those living in rural areas.

Latest government data show that 1 in 5 rural homes (20%) fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard, compared to 16% in urban areas and in the most isolated parts of the countryside, that figure rises to nearly 4 in 10 homes.

The risks to health are compounded by older, less energy-efficient rural housing stock. Almost a third of rural homes were built before 1919, making them harder and more expensive to heat. Nine per cent of rural homes fail to provide sufficient thermal comfort, and 14% contain at least one Category 1 hazard posing an immediate risk to health and safety.

Although damp overall is slightly lower in rural areas, 12% of privately rented rural homes have damp, compared to 9% in urban areas, putting rural renters among the most exposed to conditions known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular illness.

Cold homes remain a particular concern. Rural households face an average fuel-poverty gap of £668 a year, almost double that in towns and cities, and nearly a million rural homes are off the gas grid, relying on costly and uncapped fuels. This means many rural residents are at greater risk of living in homes that are too cold for good health.

These figures show that the quality and warmth of rural housing are not just issues of comfort, they are central to people’s health, wellbeing and life expectancy.

Everybody deserves a safe, warm and healthy home – wherever they live.

Source: Statistical Digest of Rural England – Housing and Energy, October 2025 (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)