Severe housing deprivation

Different factors influence the quality of housing, and some households face a multiple of shortcomings in their dwelling. Too little space (see Indicator HC2.1) may coincide with a lack of basic sanitary facilities (see Indicator HC2.3), a leaking roof, a dwelling that is considered too dark, and/or other housing quality issues. In its most extreme form, housing deprivation becomes homelessness (see Indicator HC3.1). Housing deprivation in one or more dimensions is more likely to occur among the poor population and associated with poorer labour market, health and wellbeing outcomes (see, for example, Eurofound [2016] and Tunstall et al. [2013]). No agreed definition of (severe) housing deprivation exists across countries. Eurostat defines severe housing deprivation as the simultaneous occurrence of overcrowding, together with at least one of the following housing deprivation measures: a leaking roof, no bath/shower and no flushing toilet, or a dwelling considered too dark (Box 1). In the United Kingdom, barriers to housing and services are one of the seven domains that make up the "Index of Multiple Deprivation;" housing barriers measure the physical and financial accessibility of housing and local services, including both geographical barriers (which relate to the physical proximity of local services), as well as wider barriers (which include issues relating to access to housing such as affordability and homelessness) (Department of Communities and Local Governments, 2019). In this indicator, severe housing deprivation reflects the simultaneous occurrence of two measures of housing deprivation: overcrowding as well as the absence of a flushing toilet connected to a sewage system or septic tank (see Indicators HC2.1 and HC2.2 for a separate assessment of each condition). The rate of severe housing deprivation refers to the share of households or population concerned. Some differences in the definitions of overcrowding and access to a flushing toilet are observed across surveys; these are discussed under Data and comparability issues, below.