Housing as a social determinant of health: evidence from the Housing through Social Enterprise study

Housing is a key driver of public health. Existing evidence clearly demonstrates the
ways in which health is damaged by homelessness and by living in poor quality
housing. However, the routes from housing to health and wellbeing are wider and
more complex than the negative effects of problems with housing. Housing as ‘home’
is not just a physical shelter, but also a foundation for social, psychological and
cultural wellbeing. Hence, it is important to understand how houses become homes
for the people that live in them and the ways in which housing organisations can
affect this process.

This report summarises findings from the Housing through Social Enterprise
study. The project followed a group of new tenants from three different housing
organisations to examine the health and wellbeing impacts of different approaches to
housing provision across the social and private rented sectors. We interviewed more
than 70 tenants at three points over the first year of their tenancy, to explore how
they felt about their housing situation and their local neighbourhood, and to measure
changes in their health and wellbeing.