Parents facing ‘impossible’ as thousands of babies living in overheated homes

Almost 1.6 million children, including more than 70,000 babies, are living in overheated homes in England, according to campaigners, who have called for “urgent action” to ensure housing can be kept at safe temperatures.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) warned that with warmer weather becoming more frequent, it is becoming “impossible” for parents to ensure their homes are comfortable.

The Climate Change Committee has previously suggested that hotter temperatures could result in 92% of existing homes overheating, with a prediction that by the middle of the century, the UK’s climate “will be much more extreme than today”.

Charities and campaigners have been warning this week of the dangers to vulnerable people, including the elderly and young children, of extreme heat, with people urged to take precautions where they can as temperatures rise into the high 30s.

But Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said it is “now clear that increasingly extreme heatwaves are making it impossible for parents, whatever they do, to make their homes completely safe and comfortable” indicating that steps such as drawing the curtains to keep homes cool are no longer enough.

Some 1.59 million children live in homes that get uncomfortably hot, according to NHF and Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) analysis of the 2023 English Housing Survey.

Of these, 70,690 are under the age of one.

Separate polling of 1,592 parents in England found seven in 10 said an overheated home disrupts their children’s sleep, while almost half (49%) said it affects their children’s ability to concentrate.

The NHF said the YouGov polling it commissioned showed the “significant impacts” on children’s quality of life when living in an overheated home.

Published: 25/06/2026 by Radio NewsHub