Lack of affordable housing prevents single-mother families from leaving social inclusion programmes

An improved employment situation is not always enough for a single-mother family to leave a social housing programme. Rental prices and barriers to accessing some public alternatives make it difficult to maintain the stability achieved during the support process. This is highlighted in the report The feminisation of poverty. Single motherhood as a factor increasing the risk of housing exclusion, produced by the Observatory for Decent Housing at Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation, in collaboration with Hàbitat3 and Fundació Habitatge Social.

The research, based on interviews with 48 women in vulnerable situations in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, some supported by the two organisations and others living in squatted housing, identifies the lack of a public policy that provides a pathway from social inclusion housing programmes to a lasting housing solution. The participating professionals describe, among other cases, a family with a stable, ongoing income that has been unable to leave the programme for over a year because of difficulties accessing rental housing and discrimination based on origin.

According to Ignasi Martí, director of Esade’s Observatory for Decent Housing, “many families are caught between a rental market they cannot afford and public resources whose eligibility requirements do not match their circumstances. Social programmes can provide stability and support, but ensuring a pathway to affordable housing requires a structural, coordinated response from public housing and social rights policies”.

Barriers also affect access to public housing

The report notes that the minimum income required to access certain types of subsidised housing can exclude households with a single income and dependent children. It proposes adjusting the rent actually paid through subsidies that allow lower-income households to access housing without imposing an unaffordable financial burden. It also recommends expanding the affordable housing stock and establishing priority pathways from third-sector programmes to public housing, with stable funding for support throughout the inclusion process and continued support after families leave where necessary. Social organisations and local councils provide accommodation and support, but cannot resolve the structural shortage of affordable housing on their own.

Homelessness that remains hidden

Before entering a programme or ending up in squatted housing, participants describe moving between relatives’ and friends’ homes, sublet rooms, guesthouses and hotels arranged by social services. Staying off the streets to protect their children does not mean having a stable home: it can mean relying on fragile networks or enduring difficult living arrangements.  

Gender-based violence features in a significant share of the accounts. Leaving an abusive partner can mean losing one’s home and having to cover rent and care responsibilities on a single income. Some women describe squatting as the only alternative to ending up on the streets with their children. Yet the accounts also show women actively developing strategies to protect their children, with little sharing of parental responsibilities by the other parent. “If I don’t do it, no one will do it for me,” one participant explains. This resilience, however, comes at a psychological cost and highlights the need to strengthen specialist support.

The study warns that these forms of housing exclusion are not always reflected in statistics or addressed by existing support services. It therefore proposes explicitly recognising single-mother families in housing plans and eligibility scoring systems, adapting access criteria and strengthening coordination with services addressing gender-based violence.

Gaps in protection can hinder entry into employment

The need to balance work and care responsibilities shapes these women’s employment opportunities, while the lack of a second income makes rent difficult to afford. This is compounded by interruptions in financial protection when an attempt to enter employment is unsuccessful. According to the professionals interviewed, when a mother accepts a job that does not last, reinstatement of the Guaranteed Citizenship Income benefit can take up to five months. The report recommends addressing this gap to prevent families from losing essential income, jeopardising their ability to pay for housing and meet basic needs.

Stable housing is also a policy for children

Participants describe access to stable housing as a turning point: it allows them to reorganise daily life, resume education, look for work with less urgency and strengthen ties with their community. Mothers also report improvements in their children’s emotional wellbeing, socialisation and school experience. The research therefore proposes making children an explicit objective of housing policies, as well as a criterion for prioritising applications. Ensuring the continuity of a stable home also protects children’s development opportunities and helps prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty.