Life after Lockdown

#LifeAfterLockdown Project

In 2020 we grew our client engagement and empowerment work; ensuring client's voice and experience are at the heart of our policy recommendations.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Z2K teamed up with sounddelivery to run online workshops with the people we support.

In these workshops, a dozen individuals have been talking about the changes they would like to see made to the Social Security and housing systems after lockdown, so that they adequately support everyone to live stable and dignified lives.

During the workshops, clients learnt four storytelling skills which they could use for digital campaigning: blogging, vlogging, audio recordings and photography. The work resulted in most of those clients wanting to describe their experiences publicly in audio recordings in a special project calling #LifeAfterLockdown. 

Introducing some of the individuals involved:
Mario was previously homeless, but since getting refugee status, has been able to work towards studying for a Master’s degree in Project Management. Z2K has supported him in getting appliances for his flat, with his Universal Credit claim, and with housing information.
Aisha's experience of being on benefits has been up and down. She had to appeal to get her benefits back with the support of Z2K.
Abeo was previously homeless. Z2K has supported him whilst in temporary accommodation, and has provided him with housing information.
Carl has been on benefits for a couple of years after an injury at work. He's kept himself busy during lockdown studying for his Open University course.
Four or five years after arriving in Britain, Lee's long-term condition of Amyloidosis turned into Fibromyalgia, and she had to turn to the Social Security system for support.
Jim's physical health started deteriorating about four years ago, and he has faced stigma because of his disability.
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Their views on where the Social Security and housing systems are failing to protect individuals on the lowest incomes:
Carl would like to see the Government invest in our Social Security and housing systems in a way that that actually benefits people at the lower end of the scale.
Clive explains how uninhabitable many Private Rented Sector properties are, and the need for a body that inspects the conditions of the properties landlords are renting out.
For Mario, the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit has made a big difference to his quality of life, and he would like to see it maintained.
Abeo discusses how helpful the £20 a week increase to Universal Credit has been for him, and explains why additional costs will remain far beyond the initial lockdown, hence why this increase should too.
Clive would like to see the introduction of deposit 'passporting' schemes, so he can transfer his deposit from one landlord to another, instead of being trapped in a property because he can't save for a deposit to move somewhere else.
Aibek discusses how he has to spend most of his limited income on rent for a poor quality property.
Sarah discusses how private landlords don't deal with problems urgently, and have a general lack of accountability for the properties that they rent out.
For Carl and Lee, the threat of being sanctioned is intimidating and the focus should be on supporting instead of penalising people.
Arif and Lee discuss the need for an overhaul of our Social Security system so that everyone, regardless of whether work is viable or available to them, can access the support they are entitled to.
For Carl, the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit is great, but still nowhere near enough.
Clive discusses how many tenants are forced out of their communities and into isolation because they can't afford rent in their area.
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Combining what the people involved in this project have told us with evidence from our casework, these are the key changes that we would like to see made to the Private Rented Sector and Universal Credit, so that they adequately support everyone in #LifeAfterLockdown.

  • The standards of housing in the Private Rented Sector are often low, and it can be difficult to get landlords to undertake repairs or adequately see to the upkeep of the property. To resolve this, we are calling for mandatory, funded, enforced licensing schemes. This would mean Private Rented Sector properties have to be of a certain standard, with repercussions for landlords who don’t adhere to this standard.
  • Currently, ‘local housing allowance’ i.e. how much you can get to cover your housing costs if you’re on benefits, only covers the bottom 30% of properties. This forces people into tiny, inadequate properties far from their communities. We would like to see housing benefit increased to cover median rents, and the Benefit Cap removed, so that people can afford to live in adequate properties that are close to their existing communities and support systems.
  • Many Private Rented Sector tenants lack control and choice. They are at risk of being evicted at any time, and trapped in unpleasant properties as they cannot move without a deposit. We would like to see end to ‘no-fault’ evictions so that a landlord needs a reason to evict you – e.g. you haven’t paid your rent. We would also like to see the introduction of a deposit ‘passporting’ scheme which would allow a deposit to be transferred from one landlord to another.
  • UC does not pay enough for people to live stable, dignified lives. While the £20 a week emergency increase to UC has been a big help, this £20 increase to UC must be maintained beyond March 2021, and this increase must go further so that all benefits are brought in line with the cost of rent and living.
  • People on benefits are often stigmatised, and many people have a lack of interest or investment in improving our social security system. Covid-19 has meant many more people are engaging with, and invested in the social security system. This shouldn’t change after Covid-19, more people should continue to take a more active role in demanding a better social security system, and ensuring that people on benefits aren’t stigmatised.
  • The system of benefits sanctions cause hardship and stress. During this pandemic, the Government didn’t sanction anyone on benefits. This was welcome and the use of sanctions should be stopped beyond Covid-19 and completely removed from our social security system.
This work has been possible thanks to our Tenants Voice project supported by Nationwide Foundation.