Sharing and Sanity How houses of multiple occupation may threaten the mental health of residents Caroline Barratt University of Essex

About me and MHP Mental Health and Housing Partnership Set up by environmental services Linking the university and local government Research and interagency working

Mental Health and Housing Many different factors are thought to link mental health and housing…….. Housing-Mental Health

Why focus on HMOs? ‘No more will people have a home they can call their own…the sanctity of being able to make love or cry in bed without being overheard by the person in the next room’ ( Comment on an article in Inside Housing) Government health policy Housing Benefit reforms Vulnerable residents Lack of knowledge

HMOs and Mental Health Shown as particularly deleterious to mental health compared to hostels and bed and breakfast because the conditions are similar but HMOs are considered permanent (Davies 1992) People living in hostels and B&Bs are eight times more likely to have mental health problems (Shaw et al 2008) People living in HMOs typically come from groups of the population with a higher risk of mental illness HMOs are often the first step on the housing ladder from homelessness.

Psychosocial model Housing Mental Illness Control Social Support Parenting Insecurity Identity HMOs pose particular challenges in relation to each of these processes that may be reduced or absent in other housing tenures….………..

Ways forward Our approach Qualitative study of HMOs in a UK seaside town Looking at current experience of HMO residents Using life histories to establish route into HMO accommodation Developing property case studies – with resident and landlord perspectives Quantitative ‘census’ of HMO population Wider needs More knowledge on private rental sector and vulnerable residents Assessment of initiatives to increase quality of property management Assessment of housing routes out of hospital/prison/care system

References British Medical Association Housing and health: Building for the future. Available: [accessed 26th July 2010] Communities and Local Government Evaluation of the Impact of HMO Licensing and Selective Licensing. Available: [accessed 2nd August 2010]. Davies, E The health of homeless and hidden homeless families in Reading: A report of the Reading health and Housing Project. Reading, West Berkshire Health Authority and Reading Borough Council. Department of Health Healthy lives, healthy people: Our strategy for public health in England. Available: [accessed 03 January ]. Shaw M, Danny D, Brimblecombe N Health problems in houses in multiple occupation. Environmental Health Journal 106(10): Evans G, Wells N, Moch A Housing and mental health: A review of the evidence and a methodological and conceptual critique. Journal of Social Issues 59(3):

Sharing and Sanity How houses of multiple occupation may threaten the mental health of residents Caroline Barratt University of Essex