Evidence on the relationship between unaffordable housing and poor health

Abstract

Follow the recent Global Financial Crisis, the role of Australian Governments in providing assistance to households unable to access, afford, or maintain adequate housing has come increasingly into focus. Australia is experiencing ongoing and substantial housing affordability decline, and our cities have some of the world’s highest rates of housing un-affordability. Housing affordability directly affects the type, quality, and security of housing that individuals can access. This paper examines the relationship between poor health and poor housing affordability for Australians, to answer two essential questions for Australian policy makers: Does poor health lead to unaffordable housing? And does unaffordable housing affect people’s health? Analysis was based upon two large Australian datasets, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and the General Social Survey, (GSS). We highlight the populations most vulnerable to affordability-related poor health such as lone parents and their children and older renters. This study contributes empirical evidence, allowing us to examine if there is a fundamental bi-directional relationship between poor housing affordability and health even when demographic and socio-economic factors have been, to a large extent, accounted for.