Housing pressures rarely sit neatly apart from other household concerns. The June 2025 Insecure Lives report examines how financial, housing and health insecurities overlap, using Understanding Society survey data and interviews.
The report’s analysis runs from 2009/10 to 2022/23. For 2022/23, it estimates that 9% of UK adults, or 5.2 million people, experienced the combined financial, housing and health insecurity measure. This is a historical research finding, not a count made in 2026.
What the housing measure includes
The authors define housing insecurity to include being behind with housing costs, spending 30% or more of income on housing, or being a private renter. That broad research definition is not a finding that every private tenant is facing eviction or homelessness.
The qualitative part included 36 participants recruited through community organisations in three English areas. Those interviews add accounts of experience; they are not themselves a representative survey of every household in the UK.
Why definitions matter
Before comparing this figure with a homelessness release or a rent-arrears survey, check whether the measures describe the same thing. Different definitions can produce different totals without either calculation being wrong. The period covered also matters: publication date and observation date are separate pieces of information.
The study is useful for thinking about connected pressures. A household might be managing a rent payment alongside employment changes, caring responsibilities or difficulty accessing support. But a population-level association does not diagnose an individual’s situation or establish the cause of a particular housing problem.
A practical question for property services
When someone reports a difficulty, ask what needs resolving and which communication would make the next step clear. A repair appointment, rent-account query and request for support may involve different people. Agree who will respond and avoid leaving the resident to repeat the same explanation without knowing where it has gone.
For readers using research in a business plan or policy discussion, keep a short evidence note: the data period, population, definition and limitations. That makes it easier to explain what a headline supports and what it does not.
This report offers a framework for understanding overlapping insecurity. It should not be turned into a live market indicator, a medical assessment or a prediction about any particular tenant.
Source: Insecure Lives: The growth and impact of multiple insecurities, CASE Report 159, June 2025. Checked 8 November 2026.