This is an article from September but interesting nonetheless. The report suggests 340,000 new homes are need every year. Of which over 140,000 need to be social. The challenge is huge, and as we have been saying for a long time there is no one initiative that is going to solve this problem singlehandedly.
An estimated 8.4 million people in England are living in an unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable home, according to the National Housing Federation. The federation said analysis suggests the housing crisis was impacting all ages across every part of the country. It includes people facing issues such as overcrowded housing or being unable to afford their rent or mortgage. The government said housing was “a priority” and it had delivered 430,000 affordable homes since 2010.
The research, carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of the federation, used data from the annual Understanding Society survey of 40,000 people by the University of Essex. The figures were scaled up to reflect England’s total population of nearly 56 million.
The research estimated:
– 3.6 million people are living in an overcrowded home- 2.5 million are unable to afford their rent or mortgage- 2.5 million are in “hidden households” they cannot afford to move out of, including house shares, adults living with their parents, or people living with an ex-partner
– 1.7 million are in unsuitable housing such as older people stuck in homes they cannot get around and families in properties which have no outside space
– 1.4 million are in poor quality homes- 400,000 are homeless or at risk of homelessness – including people sleeping rough, living in homeless shelters, temporary accommodation or sofa-surfingSome people may have more than one of these housing problems, the federation said.
People were considered to be living in overcrowded homes if a child had to share their bedroom with two or more children, sleep in the same room as their parents, or share with a teenager who was not the same sex as them. Homes where an adult had to share their bedroom with someone other than a partner were also considered overcrowded.
The report also estimated that around 3.6 million people could only afford to live decently if they were in social housing – almost double the number on the government’s official social housing waiting list. Social housing rents are on average 50% cheaper than from private landlords, contracts are more secure and many properties are designed specifically for older people with mobility issues, the federation said. It said the country needed 340,000 new homes every year, including 145,000 social homes, to meet the housing demand.
Kate Henderson, Chief Executive at the National Housing Federation, called for “a return to proper funding for social housing”. “From Cornwall to Cumbria, millions of people are being pushed into debt and poverty because rent is too expensive, children can’t study because they have no space in their overcrowded homes, and many older or disabled people are struggling to move around their own home because it’s unsuitable,” she said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said in 2018 the government built more homes than in all but one of the last 31 years. It has also cracked down on rogue landlords, banned unfair letting fees and capped deposits – saving renters at least £240m a year, he added.Source:
BBC News 22 September 2019, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49787913
