Home » UK Business News » Ikea urges government to build 90,000 social homes to tackle the housing crisis

Ikea urges government to build 90,000 social homes to tackle the housing crisis

By Nagasunder in UK Business News, posted October 18, 2022

Ikea is urging the government to build 90,000 social housing units per year.

This is to address the housing crisis in the United Kingdom by 2030.

Shelter, a housing and homelessness charity, has announced a new long-term partnership with the Swedish DIY behemoth.

This will result in them advocating for half a million people affected by the housing crisis.

The collaboration comes as the retailer claims that the UK housing crisis is worsening.

This is despite the fact that over a million households are currently on social housing waiting lists and that homelessness is on the rise.

In the United Kingdom, there are over 112,000 homeless households living in temporary housing.

This figure is likely to rise further as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.

Ikea plans to launch a series of initiatives to assist those affected by the housing crisis.

This aims to improve access to resources and opportunities.

Ikea and Shelter will begin training employees to become 'Life at Home Experts' in early 2023.

They will also assist people in vulnerable housing situations in understanding their rights.

They, in turn, will hold on to their homes until the crisis has passed.

This is the first time Shelter has tested the 'Life at Home Experts' initiative with a partner organisation.

The charity will train coworkers to understand local and national housing issues and rights.

Ikea will also fund Housing Rights Workers based in Shelter advice centres.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

The initiative aims to reach out to people in their communities who require housing assistance.

The partnership will also kick off a three-year research project that will follow the journeys of families living in social housing.

Ikea UK & Ireland country retail manager and chief sustainability officer, Peter Jelkeby said: “At Ikea, we want to create a better everyday life for many people. This ambition goes beyond just home furnishing: We want to have a positive impact on the world. Our partnership with Shelter will help us do that by providing support to the millions of people across the UK that do not currently have a place to call home.

“We’re in a national housing and cost-of-living crisis that’s hitting families and people suffering homelessness the hardest. That’s why it’s even more important for companies such as ours to take responsibility and contribute positively to the neighbourhoods we’re part of.”

Source: Retail Gazette

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.