Housing affordability, tenure and mental health in Australia and the United Kingdom: a comparative panel analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Introduction of a National Minimum Wage Reduced Depressive Symptoms in Low-Wage Workers: A Quasi-Natural Experiment in the UK

“…This occurs when people's subjective assessment of their financial situation improves—which is one risk factor for poor mental health. Longitudinal evidence from the UK and Australia find that when people transition into unaffordable housing, they become more likely to experience poorer mental health (Bentley et al ., ; Bentley et al ., ; Taylor et al ., ). Similarly, those who experienced financial difficulties over an 18‐month period became more likely to suffer from common mental health problems than those who did not experience financial difficulties (Skapinakis et al ., ).…”

Constructing a housing precariousness measure for Europe

“…Precariousness has been invoked in multiple ways in the housing and employment literatures, for example: "the spread of greater labour market flexibility, greater job insecurity, a greater fragility in relationships and a weakening in the formal provision of social welfare" (Nettleton & Burrows, 2001) "the concepts of precarious housing and precarious employment make direct reference to the marginal position of many households" (Beer et al, 2015) "employment… [that] is uncertain, unpredictable, and risky from the point of view of the worker" (Kalleberg, 2009) "insecure, contingent, flexible work --from illegalised, casualised and temporary employment, to homeworking, piecework and freelancing" (Gill & Pratt, 2008). These definitions emphasise the increased exposure to uncertainty through the privatisation of risk, which shifts the costs and risks from employers, for example, onto individuals.…”

“…It is important to distinguish precariousness from vulnerability, which we relate to the characteristics of groups rather than their actual experiences and/or situations. Thus, vulnerable groups, such as substance users may be more likely to suffer from a precarious housing environment, just as precarious employment has been found to be clustered among certain groups (Beer et al, 2015;Pendall et al, 2012;Vives et al, 2013). Similarly, risk factors and individual characteristics may increase that individual's risk of an adverse outcome.…”

“…The most novel explorations of dimensions of housing precariousness have focussed on only two countries (Web Appendix Box 1). Wood and colleagues assessed financial difficulties in the housing sectors of the UK and Australia (Wood et al, 2015); while Beer and colleagues, in the most comprehensive effort so far, measured aspects of housing tenure, affordability and forced moves in Australia (Beer et al, 2015). Here we seek to expand on this work by studying housing precariousness across a number of countries, using a measure of housing precariousness which includes a broader range of dimensions and components.…”

Will housing tenure drive unequal outcomes for Consumer‐Directed Care recipients?

“…Exacerbation of housing stress for those in rental properties may occur if tenants are also experiencing high utility costs due to poor dwelling design and poor thermal efficiency, which can be a particular concern for older people. Mental health in older age can also be greatly affected by insecure tenure, as a result of stress of facing eviction and being forced to find alternative accommodation .…”