Health and housing conditions in public sector housing estates

This article reports some of the findings of a study of health and housing conditions ina sample of households from eight different types of council housing areas in Gateshead.Controlling for age, there were found to be marked and consistent differences in self-reported health between individuals from different areas. For all age groups up to 65 years old, those living in “bad” housing areas reported poorer health, more long-standing illness, more recent illness and more symptoms of respiratory disease and depression. The clearest associations between poor health and bad housing emerged for the generally fittest age-groups (the under 25 years). For the people over 65 years the position was reversed, with those in “good” housing areas reporting poorer health, with the exception of recent illness. This is argued to be the result of local authority lettings policy, which gives priority to re-housing the less-fit elderly.Those in “bad” housing areas were also more likely to report housing defects which affected their health and to feel that their health could be improved by a change in their housing.The study found that “bad” council housing areas did not necessarily conform to thestereotype of non-traditional construction, or high-rise flats. Some consisted of traditionally built houses, while there was a sizeable representation among the “good” housing of system-built high-rise flats. The “bad” housing areas were marked off more by their location, their poor environment and the low quality of their construction.