One in seven people – equating to 8.4m – across England are directly affected by the ‘housing crisis’, new research has claimed.
They include 2.5m people unable to afford their rent or mortgage in the private sector.
Others are living in overcrowded homes; or cannot afford to move out of unsuitable properties where they live, for example, with parents or ex-partners.
Some are at risk of homelessness, while others are stuck in properties that they physically cannot get around, or are families with no outdoor space.
Almost half the total, 3.6m, would do better to live in a social rented home.
The National Housing Federation said that the housing crisis is affecting people of all ages, right across the country.
It is calling for £12.8bn a year over the next ten years to build 340,000 new homes, including 145,000 new social homes.
Comments (2)
We HAVE to get back to a coherent policy on social housing which allows local authorities (who know the problems on their ground, unlike national government) to build houses again for rental ONLY. Right to buy is old hat and late twentieth century policy which completely ignores current housing problems for the needy and less well off.
There was an unsaid mantra up until the eighties that you rented a property (council house or bedsit) until you had saved up enough money to buy your first house and if you didn’t want to move out of your council house and move up the ladder you could stay there and rent it. I know someone will jump in right now and say “Ah! But there used to be a lot of Jaguars outside some of those homes”, but that’s not the point because most people moved up the ladder and there was no shortage of affordable housing then as there is now. Relief on the private sector will also help to ameliorate prices for first time buyers and help to recreate a social balance.
For decades, UK has had no coherent or properly informed hsg or economic policy. Symptoms incl: shrinking owner-occupn & compounding unaffordability to rent/buy while popns & stock remain +/- matched.
20yrs of gearing with low int rates & QE CREDIT COMPOUND asset inflation which attracts SPECULATORS & INVESTORS with tax breaks RAISING THE WHOLE HSG PRICE LEVEL. Central banks then restrain non-hsg inflation compounding a gap with wages in the PRODUCTIVE economy.
AFFORDABILITY now has little to do with hsg qty, SUPPLY or constr costs & just bldg more will not help. FINANCIALISATION drives a PONZI scheme transferring COMPOUNDING untaxed WEALTH to exstg owners expanding a POVERTY TRAP at the bottom, contraction of 1st TBs & owner-occup’n, INDEBTEDNESS, unaffordability & INEQUALITY.
SOCIAL DIVISION COMPOUNDS between rich & poor, old & young, owners & renters, N&S, centres & regions, expanding a trapped class who can not afford to rent, buy or save.
As the return on capital, rents follow prices up ahead of wages in the productive economy. New units sell/rent at prices set by exstg stock, so those who can not afford today will be priced out tomorrow, while the better off & more creditworthy have an almost unltd capacity & incentive to CONSUME more: larger, vacant, 2nd, investment units.