Far from being ‘safe at home’, too many Northerners spent the 2020 lockdown in homes that harmed their health.

Lockdown, Rundown, Breakdown is a study which highlights the lived experience of people who were living in poor-quality, non-decent, accommodation in lockdown and sets out their coping strategies. It demonstrates the impact that disrepair, cold and hard to heat homes, and confined spaces have had on people.

The Northern Housing Consortium worked with the University of Huddersfield and the Nationwide Foundation to mobilise this rapid research. We argue that:

• Government must take immediate steps to strengthen lifelines to keep people afloat this winter
• But in the longer term, we must learn lessons from lockdown and renew our housing stock so that everyone in the North has a decent place to call home