A/HRC/25/54/Add.2 shared accommodation rate. Between May 2005 and May 2013, private rental prices increased by 8.4 per cent in England, with the highest increase in London (11.0 per cent) and the East (8.3 per cent), and the least in the North-East (5.2 per cent) and the East Midlands (5.3 per cent).73 V. Impact of the current housing situation and measures on specific population groups 56. Some population groups are particularly affected by the cumulative impact of the various policies and reforms mentioned above. Numerous testimonies corroborated the view that people “felt squeezed from all sides” in their housing and human rights situation. A. Low-income individuals and households 57. Poverty alone may not explain the excruciating situation of people in the current housing crisis, except when considering the situation of the most vulnerable and marginalized. For example, a Liverpool study shows that the cost-of-living pressures faced by low-income households, coupled with welfare cuts, mean poor families are increasingly turning to “payday loans” (short-term loans subject to high interest rates) to meet essential housing-related costs, like rent and electricity bills.74 Even a relatively small change in income or a delay in wages quickly renders poor people fragile, because the margins of financial survival are tight. 58. Poverty also plays a part in falling into rent arrears and possibly eviction. According to the National Housing Federation, only four weeks after the implementation of the spareroom subsidy, in one of the poorest areas (Merseyside), more than 14,000 households fell into arrears with their rent. For 6,000 of these households, it was the first time they had ever fallen behind on their rent. And as there are not enough smaller houses in the social sector, options are not available except at higher costs in the private sector. Many people will stay in their homes, forced to live on less money when living costs and utility bills are rising.75 59. Fuel poverty is directly linked to housing conditions and threats to an adequate standard of living. According to the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, nearly 50 per cent of fuel-poor households are pensioners, 34 per cent contain someone with a disability or longterm illness, and 20 per cent have a child aged 5 or under.76 Despite such high figures, all six of the main energy firms have already announced a rise in gas and electricity prices, representing an increase in domestic bills ranging from 8.2 to 11 per cent.77 60. The link between deteriorating living conditions, low income and the housing crisis became clear to the Special Rapporteur in her discussions with people living in poverty in various locations, and in particular during her visit to the Cyrenians Good Food projects in Edinburgh.78 Some residents described how they had to severely cut down on the use of their pre-paid cards for electricity and feared the winter. For some the choice was to eat less, or to 73 74 75 76 77 78 Office for National Statistics, “Index of Private Housing Rental Prices: Historical Series” (2013), p. 10. “Heat or eat? Or take out a loan, do both, and hope for the best?”, The Guardian (www.theguardian.com/society/2013/oct/01/heat-eat-loan-liverpool). NHF, “The bedroom tax in Merseyside—100 days on” (2013), p. 5. Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, Tenth Annual Report 2011-2012, p. 5. For more information on fuel poverty see http://endfuelpoverty.org.uk/. Meetings held in London, Belfast, Manchester and Edinburgh. 15