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Bristol Greens have brought forward a motion to this week’s full council meeting to address furniture poverty in Bristol.
Furniture poverty is the inability to afford or access essential household items required for a socially acceptable standard of living, such as beds, sofas, tables and chairs, cookers, fridges/freezers, washing machines, wardrobes, and floor coverings.
The motion asks the Council to work with the One City boards to create a ‘End Furniture Poverty Charter’ for Bristol which housing providers would to sign up to, and to consider providing 10% of the Council’s housing stock with essential furniture.
Cllr Lisa Stone, who put forward the motion, said, “Furniture poverty is a deeply personal issue for me, and for many people in Bristol and across the country.
“A lack of essential household goods can contribute to poor physical and mental health, disrupted sleep, financial hardship and social isolation.
“Through this it can put pressure on public services like healthcare, homelessness support, and social care, while limiting opportunities for employment and economic participation. Children facing furniture poverty often face additional barriers to studying and succeeding at school.
“This motion aims to get to the root cause of these issues, to benefit both individuals and communities.
“If we are serious about creating a fairer city, we must ensure that everyone can live with dignity in a safe, warm and properly furnished home.”
Research from the End Furniture Poverty Foundation found that six million people in the UK are living in furniture poverty. One million are in deep furniture poverty, which is defined as living without three or more essential items. Over eight million essential items are missing from UK homes nationwide.
Claire Donovan, Director of End Furniture Poverty, said: “ We know thousands of Bristol residents will be living in furniture poverty, without essential items of furniture and appliances and the commitment of Bristol City Council to support them is so important.
“We urgently need all social housing tenants in Bristol, including housing association and council tenants, to be offered furnished tenancies to provide them with the items they desperately need.
“We are here to help landlords to set up furniture schemes so now is the time to turn words into action and get these services set up immediately.”
On the 11th of August 2026, Bristol City Council hosted a ‘End Furniture Poverty Bristol Summit’, hosted by Cllr Stone, which brought together partners from across Bristol and the South West in a first step towards developing a coordinated, city-wide approach to ending furniture poverty in Bristol.
Amy Underdown works at the Bristol North West Foodbank and as an advice Worker, she said, “Having access to basic household items such as carpets, curtains, and white goods is vitally important for people to feel comfortable and happy in their homes. Ensuring tenants’ wellbeing should be at the forefront of what social housing providers do.
“At the foodbank, we have seen people having to take out loans, use credit cards, borrow money from friends, and sometimes even resort to loan sharks to pay for essential furnishings for their homes. This, in turn, drives up foodbank use.
“I have had clients tell me that it feels like they are camping in their own home, having to use a camping stove, and buying ingredients every day because they have nowhere to keep food fresh.
“I would strongly urge social housing providers to sign up to the charter the Greens have put forward to ensure that basic furniture and household essentials are provided as standard.”
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