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LGA: social housing drop prevents young buying
A huge drop in social housing building means homeownership rates among 25-year-olds are less than half what they were 20 years ago, council leaders warned today.
An analysis for the Local Government Association (LGA) recommended giving councils more powers, including borrowing powers, and piloting financial incentives for housing providers that support tenants into work and increase their earnings.
The report showed that in 1995/6, almost half (46%) of 25-year-olds owned homes. Today that figure stands at just 20%.
It also warned difficulties faced by young people trying to get on the housing ladder have been exacerbated by a huge fall in the number of social and affordable rented homes being built.
In 2015/16, according to figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government, 6,550 homes were built for social rent. Twenty years ago, in 1995/6, 56,950 were built, meaning there has been an 88% decrease.
With average deposits now a significant proportion of buyers’ income, a lack of low-rent properties is making saving for a deposit increasingly difficult.
Martin Tett, housing spokesman for the LGA, said: “Our figures show just how wide the generational homeownership gap is in this country. A shortage of houses is a top concern for people as homes are too often unavailable, unaffordable and not appropriate for the different needs in our communities.”
