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7 out of 10 renters worry about being able to now buy a home – Lib Dems

by Steve Beasant on 13 July, 2017

  • The proportion of private renters who said affordability was the main barrier increased from 56% in 2008-09 to 70% in 2015-16
  • 3 in a 100 people now languish on a waiting list for a council house for 10 years or more
  • 258,000 people now live in overcrowded accommodation

Shocking new data, released today shows that the dream of many of owning a home to call their own is slipping away from millions as 7 out of 10 renters say that they worry that they cannot afford to buy.  The Liberal Democrats have said that this data shows that ‘we are seeing the death of a truly affordable home in vast swathes of Britain’.

The English Housing Survey shows that among renters not expecting to buy, affordability was cited as the main barrier to home ownership.

The data shows that over a quarter of a million people living in social and housing association properties that are officially overcrowded and cramped. Among households with people aged 35-44, one in 8 properties were overcrowded.

There were approximately 1.5 million households containing at least one adult who would like to buy or rent their own accommodation, but could not afford to do so.  The main reason households did not apply for a mortgage was because they did not think their deposit was large enough.

The data also shows 3 in 100 people desperate for a council or housing association property have to wait for over 10 years to get a property.

Commenting on the data, Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone said:

“We are now seeing the death of the truly affordable family home in vast swathes of Britain. The Government is allowing the housing market to spiral out of control and it is kicking the ladder of aspiration away from millions of people.

“Renters are looking at spending years before they can scrape together a deposit for a home to call their own. It is time to build the homes that Britain needs and to stop the recycled press releases and reheated funding announcements. We need to get Britain building.

“The government should start building garden cities and villages, bringing empty homes back into use, and create a Government-backed housing investment bank to bring us up the 300,000 homes a year we need.”

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