Published in February 2020, Resolution Foundation’s ‘Working Hard(ship)’ explores the link between poverty, work and housing, and adds to our knowledge of the topic in two distinctive ways. First, it looks at in-work poverty not just as a static but also a dynamic condition. Second, it explores the intersection between housing tenure and in-work poverty. ‘Housing tenure’ describes the legal status under which people have the right to occupy their accommodation. The most common forms of housing tenure are home-ownership and renting. ‘In-work poverty’ occurs when a working household’s total net income is insufficient to meet their needs.

The Report finds that across the board, moving into work has a strong downward effect on poverty rates, contradicting the claim that work does not pay. The 'poverty rate' is the ratio of the number of people (in a given demographic) whose income falls below the poverty line; usually taken as half the median household income of the total population. But in-work poverty is a condition that can be hard to escape, with many moving in and out of in-work poverty over time. This matters a great deal for social renters who, with lower pay and marginally shorter hours than those living in other tenures, have a higher in-work poverty risk. ‘Social renting’ is cheaper than privately rented housing and is managed by councils or housing associations. Social housing is allocated on a basis of need, decided by the council. The Report show how low earning families of all housing tenures (home-ownership, private renting, social renting) have been affected by benefit cuts in recent years.