The number of people living in overcrowded homes in England will soar 15 per cent to 2.6 million by 2011 as unemployment and repossessions bite, the National Housing Federation warned today. It says an extra 350,000 people would be living in overcrowded conditions in the next two years, exacerbated by the economic slowdown which has left as few as 70,000 new homes being built this year – down from 140,000 in 2008/09. Regionally, the most severe living conditions are in London, where 6.6 per cent of all homes are officially classified as overcrowded.