Neglected housing insecurity and its relationship with renters health: the case of Barcelona, Spain.

Objective: To analyze by gender the relationship of forced displacements due to neglected housing insecurity with the physical and mental health of renters in Barcelona in 2019, distinguishing between economic (EHI) and legal (LHI) housing insecurity.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the Survey of the Living Conditions of Renters in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area 2019 (1021 women; 584 men). Self-reported health and mental well-being were the dependents variables; the main explanatory variable was neglected housing insecurity. We used adjusted robust Poisson regression models to compare health outcomes among people affected by neglected housing insecurity and those who were not affected.

Results: We observed that the probability of worse health outcomes are greater in those affected by EHI, followed by those affected by LHI, both compared to those who have not been affected by housing insecurity. This association are mainly observed in mental health of renters affected by EHI, even after adjusting for socioeconomic and other housing variables (in women PR: 1,17, CI95%: 1,03-1,33; in men PR: 1,21, CI95%: 1,01-1,43).

Conclusions: Neglected housing insecurity is associated with worse mental health. Enhancing the visibility of neglected housing insecurity and raising awareness of its effects on health is urgently needed to tackle this massive but hidden problem.