Your location: Migrant workers in housing hell
26 June 2008
Shelter has launched a new policy briefing calling on the Government to improve conditions for thousands of migrant workers who are forced to live in bad housing.
Since 2004, more than 760,000 migrant workers from new EU countries such as Poland, Hungary and Latvia have entered the UK. But many end up living in poor and overcrowded private rented accommodation.
The briefing, Eastern European migrant workers and housing, looks at the housing challenges for new migrant workers from A8 and A2 countries, and highlights the obstacles they face, such as street homelessness, language barriers to housing advice, and exploitation by employers.
The briefing makes specific recommendations to the Government on how it can improve the housing conditions of migrant workers.
It also highlights recent Government figures that show less than one per cent of all housing association lettings went to A8 nationals in 2006, and during 2007 only 0.7 per cent of homelessness acceptances were from A2 and A8 households.
Shelter‘s Chief Executive, Adam Sampson, said: ‘This report dispels the myth that migrant workers get an “easy-ride” and are being prioritised for social housing over and above British-born households.
The true picture is that unscrupulous landlords are happy to see migrant workers living in dangerous and sub-standard accommodation, because they know the workers don’t have any other option.
The Government must take responsibility for these workers and ensure that local authorities have the resources to carry out the necessary regulation and enforcement to ensure the rights of migrant workers are upheld.’
Get advice on your housing rights if you have come to the UK from the EU or EEA
