Housing

Safe, secure housing is vital for good health. Poor housing can affect physical and mental wellbeing. That’s why we’re working with local councils, housing providers and community partners to make homes in south London healthier places to live.

What we’re working on

Set up the Health and Housing Coalition, co-chaired by community leaders and senior leaders from the South East London and South West London Integrated Care Boards. It brings together NHS and local authority representatives from all 12 south London boroughs
Co-developed a range of community-led solutions with partners
Reviewed NHS and Local Authority processes to develop new clearer communications and explore solutions to pathways

Our priorities

Use NHS land to build affordable and social housing
Bring housing advocacy into health services, so people with housing-related health needs get support and housing issues are spotted early
Empowering communities to influence housing and health decisions

Resources

Read Andrew Bland’s blog “Housing and health: a partnership for change”
Read Local leaders unite to tackle the health impacts of the housing crisis

South London Health and Housing Coalition

In our 2023 listening campaign, over 4,000 people told us how housing affects their health and their ability to thrive. Poor conditions, rising costs, and insecure tenancies are having a serious impact on the wellbeing of some of our most vulnerable south London communities.

Taking action

To respond, we set up the South London Health and Housing Coalition to take action on the health impact of the housing crisis. Since 2024, the Coalition has met twice. Community leaders and partners have co-developed recommendations through a year-long participatory process. Senior NHS and local authority leaders have pledged to take forward these recommendations and embed housing into health planning.