Flooring Research Project

Would you be comfortable living in a home with bare floorboards?

In May 2024, we published our Final Report on the provision of floor coverings at the point of let in social housing. At Longleigh, we are more than just a provider of grants; we’re advocates for change.

About the Project

Background

In response to our experience as a grant-maker, often providing grants to families moving into social housing without floor coverings, we commissioned and funded Altair to conduct an extensive three-year research project.

Key Findings:

• An estimated 760,000 adults in UK social housing may be living without floor coverings, equating to as much as 15% of social housing households.
• Almost four in five social housing tenants move into homes with partial or no floor coverings, negatively impacting their quality of life.

Impact and Advocacy

Research Impact

During the course of this research, we witnessed the Welsh Government’s announcement of the new Welsh Housing Quality Standard, outlining expectations for floor covering provision at the point of let in social homes.

However, there are still no requirements for floor coverings in Scotland and for all rooms in England.

Call to Action

We invite you to join us in working together to raise awareness and advocate for funding and policy changes, ensuring all social renters have access to decent living conditions.

Housing Associations

• Ensure floor coverings are provided in all social housing at the point of let.
• Retain good quality carpets at the end of tenancies to reduce waste and improve tenant wellbeing.

Housing Activists

• Share our research and its findings with your networks.
• Lobby the government to increase funding for improved housing standards through the Decent Homes Standard (England) and Social Housing Quality Standard (Scotland).

Professional Bodies

• Share our findings and encourage discussion within your networks.
• If aligned with the recommendations, join us in lobbying for increased funding to improve housing standards.

Tenant Bodies

• Promote the research and its findings to your networks.
• Lobby for increased government funding and higher housing standards.

Social Housing Tenants

• Contact your MP: Advocate for funded improvements to ensure all rooms in social housing have floor coverings at the point of let.
• Engage your landlord: Ask about their floor covering standards and encourage pilot projects to explore improvements.
• Seek support: If a lack of floor coverings has caused hardship, ask your landlord for help or funding options.
• Be heard: Request your landlord consults tenants on the new Decent Homes Standard when it is published.
• Empower yourself: Sign up for free tenant rights training through the government’s Four Million Homes programme.

Ministers and Shadow Ministers

• Commit to raising the standard of social housing floor coverings in your manifesto, ensuring all new social tenancies across England, Scotland, and Wales include floor coverings in every room.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

• Prioritise floor coverings as part of the Decent Homes Standard in England, with full funding to ensure effective implementation.

Politicians in England and Scotland

• Commit to a funded initiative ensuring all new social tenancies in your nation include floor coverings in every room.

Scotland Housing Directorate

• Make floor coverings in all rooms a key focus of the Social Housing Quality Standard review to improve tenant wellbeing across Scotland.

Tenant Voice

“One tenant from our focus group shared, “I only brought my guests into the kitchen, not the living room. I only let my friends go into the living room four months after I moved in because then I had laminate and rugs down.”

Focus Group Tenant

Reports

Read the comprehensive final report on the provision of floor coverings published in May 2024.

Learning Reports:

• Final Learning Report: Final Report
• Learning Report 3: Landlord Perspectives
• Learning Report 2: Tenant Perspectives
• Learning Report 1: Scene Setting

We want to hear from you

If you would like to continue the conversation about this research and find out what you can do to help, please get in touch with Longleigh’s CEO, Aileen Edmunds at aileen@longleigh.org