People who live in vans in Bristol are middle-aged working people who are doing it out of choice because it makes them happier and to escape the city’s ongoing housing crisis.

These are the key findings of what is thought to be the first-ever academic study of the phenomenon, which is growing rapidly in Bristol.

The number of people converting vans to live in them increased by a third to more than 120 last year, according to the study by Ruth McAllister Kemp, from the University of the West of England.

However, the actual number could be much higher because of what are known as ‘stealth vans’ - where people convert vehicles internally, but they still look like ordinary transit or builders vans from the outside.

McAllister Kemp said she hoped her report will help council chiefs better put together a strategy to deal the growing number of live-in vans.

She found the one thing the vast majority of people who are currently living in vans in Bristol wanted was a site or a series of secure sites where they could park up without affecting people living nearby.

Bristol City Council is believed to be about to become the first city in Britain to produce a specific housing strategy for people living in vans or caravans, aside from existing policies concerning Roma, Gypsy and traveller communities.

The number of people converting vans in Bristol increased by a third last year

The in-depth study involved speaking to a large number of people who live in the vans, about why and how they do, their housing journey to this point, and their thoughts, hopes and fears about their individual situations.

It found that, although every person has a different story, there were common features which shattered many stereotypes and myths about van-dwellers.

“There were three striking features across the sample,” the report said.

“The majority of participants did paid work, none had dependents and none were young adults, for example, between 18 and 30,” it added.

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The study found the vast majority of people living in vans in Bristol had taken the step after living in private rented accommodation.

They had effectively found the 21st century ‘gig economy’, with short-term work, zero-hours contracts and more freelance work, was at odds with not only increasing rents, but also demands for financial stability from landlords and letting agencies.

Almost all those studied said they chose to live in a van as a way to stay in the city, remain in employment - and when they did, they found they preferred the freedom it provided.

'I had no sunlight'

“I had no sunlight to the place, couldn’t see any sky in the apartment and I thought ‘what am I living in a box for with no sky, when I could buy’,” said one participant in the study, a 47-year-old man known as ‘Participant P’.

“I already had a friend who bought a van two years ago and lived in it and she was putting pictures up wherever she was, and I thought ‘I could do that’.

“So I bought a van, gave my notice on the flat, spent a month doing it up to get it roughly habitable and now doing it up as I go, living in it,” he added.

The study found people who live in vans are happier and have a better quality of life in many ways.

“Participants anticipated having more disposable income, but there were other life improvements they did not expect,” the study said.

“Beneficial aspects of vehicle dwelling included: increased amounts of leisure time for exercise, political activism and creative pursuits; more time outdoors; increased social contact; increased environmental awareness; improved mental health and healthier relationships,” it added.

Being priced out of the rental market was the main driver that led people to live in vans instead, the study found.

Residents have differing opinions on the presence of the van dwellers

“For the most part, the feeling of ‘being trapped’ was unequivocally linked to the high rents demanded in the private rented sector,” the study said.

“Van dwellers were critical of the low standard of private rented accommodation, exacerbated by landlords failing to address their complaints adequately and in reasonable time.

“When talking about housing options following the breakdown of his marriage, this van dweller explained that he preferred living in a van to living in low-quality, high-cost private-rented-sector accommodation,” it added.

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“Van dwellers who had left a private rented home had experienced a scarcity of disposable income following rental and bill payments. Many felt that rent had ‘skyrocketed’ in the last few years in Bristol,” the report said.

One participant, a woman aged 35, said: “We were renting, like everybody else, renting and spending most of our income on rent, feeling pretty, pretty trapped.

“You haven’t got two pennies to rub together some months, but then you’ve got more money, but the rental market isn’t set up for that.

'You’ve got somewhere that’s yours'

“So if you have your vehicle, you know at least you’ve got somewhere that’s yours and you don’t have to worry about it,” she added.

Another van-dweller, a man aged 51, added: “It's not something that I’m going to give up to go and live in some squalid little bedsit that I’m paying a fortune for, that I’m not getting anything out of.”

But van-dwellers said they had a number of concerns and fears - including worries about the impact parking up in a residential street will have on existing residents.

They also worry about a negative reaction from local people, and a perceived stigma fuelled by prejudice, which some think is increasing as the normally tolerant residents of Bristol are replaced by people moving into the city who might be less accepting.

“Many van dwellers felt that Bristol was an accepting city, partly attributable to it being in the south west of England and its historical links with New Age Travellers and festivals, thereby adding to the ‘vibe’ that the city was alternative, creative, diverse and multicultural,” the report said.

“Whether van dwellers felt accepted or not by neighbouring house dwellers had a significant bearing on their sense of security. A minority of van dwellers felt that acceptance was being eroded by people moving in to Bristol who, they believed, had no appreciation that the city was ‘accepting’ of people living in vans,” the report added.

'Committed to work'

The study also found almost all of those living in vans were working people - who had effectively switched rising rents for more stable costs and taxes of keeping a large vehicle roadworthy.

Ms McAllister Kemp said: “I discovered that van dwellers often want to be regarded as responsible and good citizens.

“They therefore invariably keep their vehicles legal, are committed to work and do not want to disturb their house-dwelling neighbours.

Many van dwellers felt Bristol was an accepting city

“Bristol City Council is one of the first local authorities in the UK to develop a strategy for lived-in vehicles parked on highways. It has proposed that lived-in vehicles will be assessed taking welfare needs into account.

“This unique research gives a crucial insight that can help shape its approach to those assessments and, as more local authorities seek to unify and formalise their response to vehicle dwelling, could be used to inform van dwelling policies,” she added.