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UK is ill-prepared to deal with housing issues worsened by pandemic, warns CIH

The UK is “ill-prepared” to deal with housing problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with younger households set to suffer most, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has warned.

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The CIH said plans from Westminster do not match the scale of housing need (picture: Getty)
The CIH said plans from Westminster do not match the scale of housing need (picture: Getty)
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The UK is “ill-prepared” to deal with housing problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with younger households set to suffer most, @CIHhousing warns #UKhousing

In its annual Autumn Briefing Paper, the institute said the Westminster government’s investment plans do not match the scale of housing need emerging from the crisis.

Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in the same position, it added, partly as a result of being held back by delays in setting the UK Budget.

Social landlords’ abilities to find the huge investment needed in new social rented housing is hampered by strains on resources such as huge fire safety bills, the paper said.

On the private housing market, it claimed: “Without doubt younger households are bearing the brunt of the reworking of the housing market (and of the economy), despite measures to support first-time buyers.”


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It said: “With problematic leases and challenges in financing post-Grenfell remediation work added to tightened access to mortgages, there are some real changes taking place in who benefits from the housing market.”

Large numbers of private renters facing unemployment or falling income “will find it impossible to pay rents they could cope with before the crisis” but will not qualify for welfare support, researchers warned.

Gavin Smart, chief executive of the CIH, said: “While we need more homes of all kinds, we particularly need homes at lower ‘social’ rents, support for homeownership must not happen at the expense of truly affordable social housing.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has, more than ever, highlighted the importance of having a place we can call home – a place where we feel safe and secure – and we need to ensure that for all of our population.”

The paper also stated that government carbon targets require 1.2 million homes to be made energy efficient each year, but that these ambitions cannot be met with the resources currently available.

It also argued that success in housing rough sleepers during lockdown is at risk unless steps are taken to support migrants with no recourse to public funds.

The CIH’s Autumn Briefing Paper updates themes from its full UK Housing Review 2020, published earlier this year. The paper is edited by Mark Stephens, professor of public policy at Heriot-Watt University.

Mr Stephens said: “Early government and market responses to the pandemic have largely been effective in keeping people in their homes.

“But it is now clear that we are in this for the long haul and the next six months will be a real test of government commitment and market resilience.

“Meanwhile, it is important to plan for a country which will have experienced permanent changes in the labour market.”

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