Furniture and appliance poverty in the UK: Who is affected and how?

About the study

In June 2022, NatCen carried out a survey with members of its Opinion Panel on behalf of End Furniture Poverty to understand how many people in the UK were unable to afford essential household items. The findings informed the ‘The Extent of Furniture Poverty in the UK’ report, published in 2023. 

Building on this research, in September 2025, End Furniture Poverty commissioned NatCen to repeat and expand the study. The new research aimed to reassess the prevalence of furniture poverty to establish a robust baseline for future trend analysis. Additionally, it explored the impact that living in furniture poverty had on both mental and physical health. A new report was published by End Furniture Poverty in March 2026.

Together, these studies provide an important and robust evidence base that reveals the extent of furniture poverty and its impact on day-to-day life for people living without essential household items.

Technical note

This survey examines severe conditions faced by disadvantaged or seldom‑heard groups. As with any survey, there’s always a degree of uncertainty in the results – essentially a plus/minus around each estimate. In this case, the uncertainty around the estimate (technically called ‘confidence interval’) is relatively wide. The smaller the group of interest, the harder it is to produce precise figures.

Confidence intervals are presented below for the key findings. For all other figures, we present the central estimate to keep things straightforward for readers.

Key findings

The extent of furniture poverty and its impact amongst UK adults (18+)

• The 2025 data shows that between 3.4 to 4.8 million UK adults experience furniture poverty, with a total of 8.1 million essential items missing from British homes. 
• Even if we look at the lowest end of these ranges (in technical terms – the lower bound of the confidence interval), the findings still point to a serious social emergency. 
• Nearly 1 million adults are in ‘deep furniture poverty’, whereby they are missing three or more essential items.
• Of those in furniture poverty, 27% reported severe impact on their physical health and 32% report severe impact on their mental health.

The extent of furniture poverty accounting for children (0-17 years old)

• Further analysis suggests that at least 7% of children (0-17), which equates to 1 million children, are also in furniture poverty. 
• This means around 5 million people (adult and children) in the UK are experiencing furniture poverty.

Furniture poverty by key socio-demographics

There are certain groups more at risk of furniture poverty than others:

• Social renters are four times more likely to be in furniture poverty than homeowners, and private renters are three times more likely than homeowners.
• People living on £1,000 per month or less are almost four times more likely to be in furniture poverty than those on more than £2500 a month. Those on £1,001 - £1,500 per month are around twice as likely.
• People from ethnic minority backgrounds have approximately double the odds of being in furniture poverty than those of a White British background.
• People with a disability that affects their day-to-day life are almost twice as likely to experience furniture poverty.

Social renters are far more likely to report that furniture poverty has an extremely or very negative impact on their health than other tenure types:

• Of those in furniture poverty, 51% of social renters reported extremely or very negative impacts on their physical health compared to 21% of homeowners and 17% of private renters.
• We see similar proportions with mental health. 62% of social renters report a very negative or an extremely negative impact of furniture poverty, versus 23% of homeowners and 21% of private renters.

Furniture poverty over time (2022 vs 2025)

When we compare the findings over time, there is no clear evidence of a change in the overall levels of furniture poverty.

Looking at the central estimates:              

• 2022 survey
  • 4.8 million adults (18+) in furniture poverty, with 7.85 million essential items missing from British homes.
  • 1.2 million children aged 0-17 years old estimated to be in furniture poverty.
  • Around 6.0 million people estimated to experience furniture poverty.
• 2025 survey: 
  • 4 million adults in furniture poverty, with 8.1 million essential items missing from British homes.
  • 1 million children aged 0-17 years old estimated to be in furniture poverty.
  • Around 5 million people estimated to experience furniture poverty.

The difference between the two surveys (4.8 million adults in 2022 vs. 4.0 million in 2025) sits well within the normal margin of error, so we can’t say conditions have improved or worsened. The difference is only “apparent”, due to normal survey variation. The data suggests that levels of furniture poverty have not changed.

The number of adults in furniture poverty and the number of missing essential items moved in opposite directions. This may – potentially – signal that hardship is becoming more concentrated, with a smaller group experiencing deeper deprivation. However, it could just as easily be the result of normal survey variation. More research is needed to test whether this “opposite fluctuation” is simply sampling noise or an early warning sign of a worsening situation for some groups. Additional data will help clarify what’s driving these patterns and whether they reflect real change or statistical ebb and flow.

It’s also worth stressing that two data points don’t make a trend. To understand whether things are getting better, worse, or staying the same, more measurements over time are needed to separate natural statistical noise from real movement in the numbers.

Methodology

Sample

Fieldwork for this study was conducted using the NatCen Opinion Panel – a random-probability panel of people recruited from high-quality, random probability studies such as the British Social Attitudes survey. By using a probability-based sample, and allowing those without internet access to take part, this design reduces the risk of bias compared to online-only surveys which exclude those who do not have access to, or are less confident using, the internet or surveys using convenience samples which are more likely to include people who are more ‘available’ or particularly want to express their views.

Survey design and definition of “furniture poverty”

The survey began by asking respondents if their household had each of the following 11 essential items: dining table and chairs; flooring; freezer; clothing storage (wardrobe or drawers); curtains or blinds; sofa or easy chairs; a place in a bed for each child (up to 17 years old); washing machine; cooker or oven; a bed for an adult; and fridge. 

Respondents were considered to be in furniture poverty if they said they needed one of these items, but could not afford or otherwise obtain it. Respondents living in furniture poverty were then asked the mental and physical impact of missing an essential item.

Fieldwork period

The data was collected between 20th November and 14th December 2025 using a sequential mixed mode design (web and telephone). A total of 2,551 of the 4,429 panel members invited to take part did so, giving a survey response rate of 58%. The data were weighted to be representative of the UK adult (18+) population.