Half the country is worried about their housing situation

There may have been a time when homelessness seemed like a problem that other people worried about. But times have certainly changed.

A new survey out today reveals that nearly half the population is actively concerned about keeping a roof over their heads during 2009. And there’s surprising consistency between people in all types of housing. For instance 44 percent of mortgage holders are worried about being able to meet their payments over the next 12 months, only just under the 47 percent of Local Authority and Housing Association tenants who say they are also worried. And you don’t have to be a council tenant or own your own home to be concerned about making ends meet, because the same polling suggests that over two fifths (41 percent) of private renters are also worried about keeping a roof over their heads.

This latest YouGov polling was commissioned as part of a report that I’ve issued today called ‘The New Homeless’, which seeks to understand how the prospect of homelessness now transcends virtually every socio-economic group in Britain.