For two years, Kirsty Brett searched for a flat in the Essex town of Canvey Island.
Staying with her parents and earning £27,000 as a carer, the 34-year-old thought she was in a good position to find a suitable one-bedroom flat she could move in and gain her independence.
But all she could find were apartments priced at £1,300 and £1,400-a-month in a local authority, Castle Point, where average rents increased 7 per cent last year.
“How could I afford that and then pay my bills and for my food and other things on top of that on my wage all by myself?” she said. “I had no option but to look at other ways to move out from my parents.”
Ms Brett, who worked as a carer, decided to move 80 miles to move in with her sister in Bury St Edmunds, before taking the plunge to buy a £10,000 caravan in May, selling two cars and taking out a loan to pay for it.
“I was happy to do it but I also felt like I was forced down this avenue if I wanted to live on my own,” she said.
She initially pitched on a residential and holiday park, paying £800 a month, before, a few weeks ago, moving on to a friend’s driveway in Bury St Edmunds. Her friend, due to ill health, needed help with errands and so it made sense to live outside the home, she said.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” she said.
“If you’re like me and you don’t mind small spaces that you can keep tidy, it’s fine. It might not be perfect, but have everything I need in the caravan; there’s a bed, kitchen, toilet and television.
“I’m lucky I could buy it, because I was not prepared to work myself into an early grave to pay the extortionate amount of money that we’re expected to pay to live on their own.”
Ms Brett is among a growing group of people across the country who, feeling priced out by the housing market, are choosing to live in caravans.
At the last census in 2021, some 104,000 households lived in a caravan or mobile home, 19,000 more than a decade before. In cities like Bristol there has been a notable rise in the number of “lived-in vehicles”, which include vans and caravans, causing tensions in the local community.
There is a perception by some that it leads to a cost-free life – but Mr Brett, who works more than 20 hours every week as a cleaner, said that’s a myth.
“I’ve still got to pay bills,” she said. “I’ve got my car with insurance costing £140, I’ve got the money to pay back on my loan which is £400 a month and then I need to buy food, with a week’s shopping costing nearly £100, and that just for like sandwiches and dinners.
“I have to cut back on some parts of life, and have looked to bring in extra money through things crafts and meditation classes.”
The Labour government’s response to the housing crisis is to build more homes, with a target for 1.5m new homes by the end of the current five-year term.
But the current shortage in social housing means there are a record 1.3m households on council waiting lists, with analysis of official figures by the National Housing Federation showing it will take more than 100 years to clear the lists at three local authority areas; Westminster, Enfield and Merton.
Part of the problem for Ms Brett has been finding a well-paid job.
She said she is highly qualified and has a wealth of experience working in care homes, particularly during the Covid pandemic. But said there is a lack of “hard, challenging” jobs which offer a good wage.
“There are so many jobs that should be paid way more that are specialised but always go on minimum wage or zero contract,” she said.
“I’m very qualified, I’ve got 27 qualifications, certificates coming out of my ears, but they [employers] won’t pay me for my skills, they only pay me what they want to and I think that’s wrong.
“It means we’re forever going to be in a situation where people like me are chasing the cost of living, from renting a home to doing the weekly shop.”
Ms Brett said she was helped by a raise in the National Living Wage this year, up to £12.21 – but she has urged the government ahead of this month’s Budget to provide greater support to those on minimum wage.
“Many people feel let down,” she said. “We all want a greater share of wealth, but what we are seeing is those who slugged so hard helping others, like during Covid, are getting nothing in return.”
As for the future, despite wanting to make her voice heard, Ms Brett is pessimistic she will see improvement.
She added: “They [politicians] stand there and say we’re going to make it better for people, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that. And they don’t. They let us down every time.”
