Media & press
Short Equfund biography
Equfund was founded by Daniel Mahon in 2002 and our goal is to provide affordable housing to help prevent homelessness. Today, we invest over £32 million from our patrons in affordable and emergency housing across the UK and have found homes for thousands of people.
Equfund statistics
Full Equfund biography
Equfund was founded by Daniel Mahon in 2002 and our goal is to provide affordable housing to help prevent homelessness. We have a proven track record of helping the UK’s homeless get back on their feet. Today, we invest over £32 million from our patrons in affordable and emergency housing across the UK and have found homes for thousands of people.
We felt compelled to act on homelessness because of the growing failure within the housing market to supply affordable, decent homes for people with insufficient financial resources to meet rental obligations.
Previously, our focus was on buying and refurbishing long-term empty properties to provide affordable rental accommodation. However, the Sanctuary Bond signals a new priority to help those with a more urgent need for accommodation.
Equfund Homelessness Survey 2018
- 15% of respondents in Manchester felt worrying about losing their home had a negative effect on their mental health
- In the London area, 23.23% of respondents pay more than 50% of their salary in mortgage payments or on rent
- In Belfast, over 15% of respondents pay more than 50% of their salary in mortgage payments or on rent
- 1-in-6 respondents in Bristol had experienced homelessness at some time in their lives
- Over 31% of 25–34 year olds estimate they are less than 3 months payslips away from facing homelessness
Most people want to help the homeless, but don’t
Fewer than 6% of female respondents had ethical investments already. Liverpool has the highest proportion of ethical investors.
The scale of the problem
People in the UK massively underestimate the reality of homelessness and do not understand the true scale of the problem. Fewer than 2% (1.47%) correctly guessed that the UK’s homeless population is over 300,000 and that 1-in-10 people in Britain have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.
Homelessness is not just sleeping rough
Most people consider homelessness as rough sleeping and not living in a bed & breakfast, hostel, shelter, or sleeping on friends’ sofas. However, the fact is, rough sleepers account for the smallest percentage of people that are officially homeless.
Vulnerable to sudden homelessness
Most homelessness is caused because people do not have resources to rent a place quickly. Over 50% will be unable to afford to move or will have to borrow money to move if they lose their home unexpectedly. This demonstrates just how vulnerable to homelessness most people in Britain are.
- Fewer than 1–in-5 16–24 year olds would have financial resources
- Over one-third of respondents 55+ would have financial resources
- ⅓ of respondents in Cardiff would have financial resources to move if they lost their home unexpectedly
People are afraid of becoming homeless
30% of people in the UK—that’s over 13 million people— fear becoming homeless. 46.7% of respondents in Northern Ireland, ⅓ of respondents in Brighton. Only 32.2% of respondents were confident they wouldn’t ever be homeless.
