40% of residents 'live in housing that falls below acceptable living standard'

Four in 10 people in Britain live in homes which fail to meet an acceptable living standard, Shelter has said.

The housing charity has developed a "living home standard", designed to be the housing equivalent of the living wage, to measure what makes an acceptable home.

Research found that one in four people live in homes (27%) that fall below the standard because of their high cost, while almost one in five (18%) live in homes which fail because of poor conditions, including problems with persistent pests, damp or safety hazards.

One in 10 people (10%) fail on living standards due to instability, largely driven by renters who feel they do not have enough control over how long they can live in their home.

Shelter's chief executive Campbell Robb said: "The sad truth is that far too many people in Britain right now are living in homes that just aren't up to scratch - from the thousands of families forced to cope with poor conditions, to a generation of renters forking out most of their income on housing each month and unable to save for the future.

"Now is the time for a national mission to get to grips with our housing crisis once and for all. We're calling on the new government, alongside businesses and other charities, to work with us to turn things around and increase the number of homes that meet the living home standard."

Shelter and Ipsos MORI developed the living home standard through a series of workshops and surveys with the public, with support from British Gas.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: "Good quality housing is an absolute priority for this Government and more than a million sub-standard properties have been brought up to standard since 2010.

"We've also set out the most ambitious vision for housing in a generation, doubling the affordable housing budget to £8 billion to deliver 400,000 more quality homes."