Our year at a glance

After receiving support from Shelter...

• 28% of people reported that their physical health had improved

• 41% reported that their mental wellbeing had improved

*These figures are based on a representative survey of 1,576 Shelter clients in England, conducted by independent research agency M-E-L Research.

Understanding more about the positive change

Our ambition for everyone is that they have a safe, settled and affordable home.

We wanted to know how many households who experienced a positive change in their housing situation had achieved this. Understanding this helps us assess the impact of our advice and what further action is needed to improve the system for people navigating the housing emergency.

We asked those who had seen an improvement in their housing situation to share more details about their experience. Their responses allowed us to assess the extent of their progress and categorise their positive outcomes using specific ranking levels.

Out of the 48% who had a positive outcome due to Shelter, the segment we asked achieved the following. This was an unweighted base of 398 (valid responses).

• 43% moved to a social home or affordable private rental

• 17% moved to suitable temporary accommodation
  supported by the local authority (deemed suitable by client for over six months)

• 13% moved, but accommodation was unsuitable and/or unaffordable
  The household is in unsuitable temporary accommodation or unsuitable/ unaffordable private rental, but see this as an improvement on their situation before receiving support from Shelter. This includes people who were street homeless who then moved into temporary accommodation.

• 15% didn't move but some positive steps were achieved
  This could be someone who was homeless or has challenges with their social housing, such as poor conditions or feeling unsafe and now has legal support; or they are waiting on a decision from the local authority. It also includes people who may currently be homeless or in a challenging housing situation, such as threat of eviction, but are aware of their rights and next steps.

• 9% said there had been some improvement
  The household hasn’t had one of the above outcomes, but feels their situation is better than before receiving support from Shelter.

• 3% other/ cannot categorise*
  The household hasn't had one of the above outcomes, but feels their situation is better than before receiving support from Shelter. Or we cannot categorise as the household has moved but didn't know/ no response given on questions of affordability or suitability.

Due to systemic challenges, such as the critical shortage of social housing, our results show that while advisory, support and legal services are vital for those at the sharp end of the housing emergency, there are limits to the impact our services alone can deliver in any one year.

This is why it is so important that we continue to strive for systemic change. Your continued support to improve and enforce the rights of renters and ensure the government builds enough social homes is crucial in the fight to end the housing emergency for good.

*The full data set can be found in the methodology and appendices report.

We asked households who reported a positive outcome in their housing due to our involvement and had either moved, decided they had to move but hadn't yet done so, or were homeless when coming to Shelter.

This represented a smaller section of the 546 households reporting a positive change in their housing situation because of Shelter (398). It did not include those whose positive change involved staying where they were.