A faith-based social action charity in Cornwall says a lack of carpet in social housing is leading to an increased use of foodbanks.
Transformation Cornwall, with the support of the Trussell Trust, has carried out a series of listening exercises in foodbanks across the county and found that a lack of suitable flooring is leading to tenants having to spend extra money on heating, leaving them more dependent on foodbanks.
It’s urging churches to support its campaign for local authorities to provide adequate carpeting in its housing stock, which totals more than 33,000 homes across Cornwall, run by 14 providers.
Social housing providers say carpets are removed between tenants because of health and safety concerns – they also may be liable if the carpet is frayed, the flooring is damaged, and it causes an accident in the home.
However, in Wales the Welsh Housing Quality Standard states that “all habitable rooms, staircases and landings located within the home should have suitable floor coverings".
Sam Williams who is Campaigns and Community Organising Manager for Transformation Cornwall told Premier:
“This is such a big issue because the unnecessary removal of carpets and flooring in social housing properties has been identified as one of the key drivers of people who access emergency food in Cornwall when moving into their social housing property. Sometimes people borrow money from family or friends to carpet their property, but paying back this money leaves less for food. They have to use a food bank.
“People told me the truth of what it was really like in their homes when they moved in. They said they felt upset and stressed. They were frightened of the cost. They felt like they needed carpet to make it a safe home for their family. One lady told me that she suffered from seizures and losing consciousness, so having a bare concrete floor for her was extremely dangerous. She had to borrow a large amount of money to carpet the whole property, which took a long time to pay back. She had to skip meals in order to have the money to pay back the loan.”
Williams added that homes without carpets and floorings can quickly become damp leading to health problems. He also said a lack of adequate flooring can be a factor in social isolation: “one gentleman I spoke to said, because he was embarrassed that he lived without carpets, he stopped letting friends and family visit him, which made him even more isolated and lonely.”
Transformation Cornwall says churches are well-placed to support tenants who find themselves struggling without carpets: ”Most likely there'll be a member of your church family who's either experienced this issue for themselves or know somebody who does. I would recommend you get them a cup of tea and you listen to their story. If your church runs a weekday toddler group, try and speak to parents who attend, try and speak to those who attend a coffee morning. And if your church supports a food bank in the community, have a chat with the volunteers, because I'm sure they will know people who live in a home without carpets. The more conversations we can begin to have, the more understanding we are of this issue that affects thousands, and when we understand the issue we can see and work towards the solution together.”
It’s reported that last year, there were 1.2 million social housing properties without carpets.
Transformation Cornwall’s Operations Director Clinton Sealy said :
“In additional to having a social negative impact, this policy is detrimental to our environment. Carpets with sometimes less than two years of use, are being thrown away instead of being cleaned and reused.
“We want to urge social housing landlords to stop the unfair practice of systematically requesting the removal of carpets during a change of tenancy and to contribute to improving the living standards of residents in these homes.”
You can find out more at https://transformation-cornwall.org.uk/whats-new/online-questionnaire-for-social-housing-tenants-in-cornwall