Children growing up in damp and overcrowded homes miss significantly more school and achieve lower exam results than their peers living in better-quality housing, according to new research
led by University College London (UCL).
The study, published in the ‘Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health’, found that children in poorer housing conditions missed the equivalent of three additional weeks of school over the course of compulsory education. They also performed worse in English and maths assessments throughout primary and secondary school.
Researchers found that housing problems were widespread. Among children born at the turn of the century, one in seven (15%) lived in homes affected by damp, while one in eight (12%) experienced overcrowding by the age of seven.
Dr Gergo Baranyi, lead author and researcher at the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said poor housing has consequences that extend beyond physical health.
“Poor quality housing doesn’t just affect children’s health, it plays a role in their educational outcomes too,” he said. “Children living in damp and overcrowded homes tend to experience more health problems, which means they are more likely to miss school and may struggle to catch up on their studies.”
He added that overcrowded living conditions can also limit children’s ability to study at home. “Without a suitable space to do homework or revise, school performance can suffer.”
The researchers analysed data from around 7,000 children born between 2000 and 2002 who are part of the Millennium Cohort Study. When the children were seven years old, parents were asked detailed questions about their housing conditions, including damp, lack of central heating and overcrowding.
Children were classified as living in lower-quality housing if they experienced at least two such problems. These records were then linked to National Pupil Database data, which tracks school attendance and educational attainment from ages five to 16. In England, most authorised school absences—around 84%—are related to health, including illness and medical appointments.
By the end of compulsory schooling (Years 1 to 11), children who had lived in lower-quality housing at age seven had missed an average of 15.5 more school days than those in better housing. They also scored between 2% and 5% lower, on average, in standardised English and maths tests taken during primary and secondary education.
The strongest link between poor housing and school absence was found among children living in damp and overcrowded homes, particularly during primary school years. The study also showed that children growing up in cold and overcrowded housing tended to have lower exam results, with the largest impact seen at GCSE level.
The findings highlight the long-term educational costs of inadequate housing and underline the importance of improving living conditions for families with children.
Dr Baranyi added: “Our new study indicates that improving housing conditions, especially reducing damp, overcrowding and updating heating systems and energy efficiency can have significant benefits for children’s health and education. Public health and housing policies targeting poorly maintained homes could help to narrow health and educational inequalities. This would particularly benefit disadvantaged pupils’ chances at school as well as their future labour market outcomes, because they are more likely to live in lower quality housing.”
Co-author, Dr Sierra Clark (School of Health and Medical Sciences at City St George’s, University of London) said: “The good news is that national and local governments in the UK are stepping up efforts to improve housing conditions. New 2024 building regulations, forthcoming legislation such as the Renters’ Rights Act, and updated guidance on health risks from hazards like damp and mould all signal a stronger commitment to tenant safety.
““The introduction of Awaab’s Law in October 2025 requires social landlords to investigate and fix dangerous damp and mould, and address emergency health hazards, within strict timeframes. Our findings show that investing in better housing may help to improve children’s futures and reduce health and educational inequalities for generations to come.”
Chief Executive of Shelter, Sarah Elliott, said: “It’s heartbreaking that so many children are struggling to balance their studies while growing up in poor quality housing. This includes a record 172,420 children who are stuck in cramped and grotty temporary accommodation because of successive government failure to build good quality social homes.
““Every day our frontline services hear from families in temporary accommodation who face long daily commutes after being shunted miles away from their children’s schools. Many struggle to get their children in as a result, while others arrive exhausted after sleepless nights in cramped and overcrowded accommodation, where they find it impossible to concentrate. How do we expect children to succeed in class without a safe and secure home?
“To protect children from experiencing the harms of homelessness and poor-quality housing, the government must unfreeze housing benefit to help families out of temporary accommodation right now. It must also ramp up the delivery of genuinely affordable social rent homes by setting a national target. We need 90,000 social homes a year for ten years to give every child a safe and secure home.”