Furniture poverty can mean the real difficulties start when homeless people move into a new home

In my line of work, I go into a lot of properties where people have moved from homelessness, through temporary accommodation and into a social home. On paper, it is meant to be a fresh start. A chance to settle, rebuild, and begin again after what is often a long period of uncertainty.

But what I see more and more of are homes that are completely empty.

Tenants arrive with very little, and often no money to buy the essential items they need. Beds, sofas, cookers, fridges, tables, things most people would expect to find in any functioning home are simply not there.

Over time, certain patterns have become familiar. I see plastic garden chairs being used instead of sofas, and blow-up beds in place of proper mattresses. Clothes are often kept in black bags because there are no wardrobes or drawers. Windows are sometimes covered with towels or sheets because curtains are another expense people simply cannot manage at the start of a tenancy.

Kitchen spaces tell a similar story. In some homes, there is no fridge, and tenants tell me they buy food daily in small amounts because there is nowhere safe to store it. Microwaves are often used as the only way of cooking, not by choice but because there is no cooker or no suitable cookware. Meals become limited, repetitive, and sometimes more expensive in the long run.

Washing clothes also becomes a challenge. Without a washing machine, people start to rely on laundrettes despite the cost. For households already managing on very limited income, this becomes another regular expense that quickly adds up.

To add to this, I have also written previously about carpet poverty, where homes are handed over with bare floors and no floor coverings, adding another layer of cost and immediacy at the start of a tenancy.

There was a time when all this would have stood out. Now, it rarely surprises me, as the cost-of-living crisis has taken hold and the long-term effects of austerity continue to shape people’s finances.

More people are arriving at the point of tenancy with nothing left. No savings, no buffer, and no realistic way of furnishing a home in the first few weeks and months after moving in.

Temporary accommodation rarely allows people to build stability. People move from one place to another, often without the ability to accumulate furniture or household goods. By the time they reach a permanent tenancy, many are starting again from scratch.

Many often assume that getting a permanent home means the hardest part is over, but for many households, the real difficulties start at the point of moving in. Homes are often empty, and without basic furniture or appliances, this immediately shapes how people live, affecting sleep, cooking, storage, and daily routines. This isn’t usually dramatic or sudden; it is quiet and routine, with people expected to manage in bare living conditions. Over time, this has become normalised, even though furniture poverty is far more widespread than it is often assumed to be.

This is reflected in national data. Research carried out by NatCen on behalf of End Furniture Poverty in 2025 estimated that between 3.4 and 4.8 million adults in the UK are living in furniture poverty. Across British homes, 8.1 million essential items are missing. Even at the lowest end of these estimates, the figures point to a significant and persistent problem.

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Around one million adults are living in what is described as deep furniture poverty, meaning they are missing three or more essential household items. This is important, because the impact of missing several items at once is very different from missing one. A missing bed, cooker, and fridge at the same time does not simply create inconvenience; it changes how daily life is managed.

Children are also affected. The research suggests that around one million children, or approximately 7% of children in the UK, are living in households experiencing furniture poverty. This means that, overall, around five million people, adults and children combined, are currently living without essential household items.

Social renters are four times more likely to be affected than homeowners. People living on very low incomes, particularly those receiving £1,000 per month or less, are also far more likely to experience furniture poverty than those with higher household incomes.

Health impacts appear to be particularly severe among social renters. Among those already living in furniture poverty, 51% of social renters reported very negative physical health impacts, compared with 21% of homeowners and 17% of private renters. Mental health impacts follow a similar pattern, with 62% of social renters reporting very negative effects, compared with 23% of homeowners and 21% of private renters.

These figures suggest that the absence of basic household items is not simply an issue of comfort or convenience, but one with measurable consequences for wellbeing.

There are also clear links with disability and ethnicity. People living with a disability that affects day-to-day life are almost twice as likely to experience furniture poverty. People from ethnic minority backgrounds also have approximately double the odds compared with those of a White British background. These differences reflect wider structural inequalities, including income insecurity, housing instability, and the cost of setting up or restarting a home.

When the 2025 findings are compared with earlier research from 2022, there is no clear evidence that overall levels of furniture poverty have improved or worsened. In 2022, around 4.8 million adults were estimated to be living in furniture poverty. In 2025, the central estimate was 4 million adults. However, this difference falls within the normal margin of error for surveys of this type, meaning it cannot be interpreted as a genuine improvement.

Overall, the evidence suggests that furniture poverty has remained broadly unchanged. In the current economic climate, it continues to affect millions of households, with no clear sign of improvement.

This is reflected not only in national data, but also in what is being seen at a local level. Charities and local organisations continue to provide essential household items to people moving into new tenancies, highlighting the ongoing need for this support. One example is Essential Needs, a furniture reuse charity in North Yorkshire, which has reported a sharp increase in demand as more people arrive in accommodation without the means to furnish it. Staff describe regular cases where homes lack carpets, beds, and other essentials, with demand often exceeding supply.

Other organisations, such as the End Furniture Poverty campaign, highlight the scale and persistence of the issue, working to raise awareness and promote long-term solutions to ensure people can access the basic items needed to set up a home.

The evidence and what I see in practice point in the same direction. Furniture poverty is not a marginal issue. It is closely tied to current economic pressures, but also reflects longer-standing issues within the housing system.

What stands out is how routine this has become, particularly for people moving on from temporary accommodation. Many are starting new tenancies without the basic items needed to live day to day.

Joe Carpenter* is the author of ebook Middle Ground: A Frontline Journey In Social Housing.

*Not his real name.

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