Young people and the housing crisis

It’s no secret that London is facing a growing housing crisis. Buying a house is increasingly out of reach for most Londoners, rental costs are spiralling and more and more people have to move further away from their friends and family, and live in increasingly overcrowded homes. Home ownership is decreasing and 72% of people do not believe they will ever be able to afford a home in London.

The housing crisis threatens London’s economic wellbeing as well as having a significant human cost, and London’s young people are likely to be the worst affected by the mounting crisis. London continues to attract and retain more young people and for a growing number who cannot afford to buy, renting is the only option. Private sector rents average at £327.92 per week while the median weekly pay in London is £565, and for young people this figure is likely to be significantly lower. According to figures released by London Councils and YouGov last week - 74% of renters in London are stressed out by the cost of housing and this number is only likely to increase as rents continue to rise.

Housing policy derived from Whitehall has failed for many years to address the London housing crisis. Government projections suggest we need to build 56,000 new homes in London every year to meet growing demand – we are currently building less than half of that. It’s clear we need to build more homes in London, but the government needs to work with local authorities to ensure housing policy encourages increased development in London. 

Boroughs have a key role to play in solving the housing crisis, building more homes and increasing the availability of housing that young people can afford. In my council Southwark, we have an ambitious programme to build 11,000 new council homes over 30 years, and many other boroughs have similarly ambitious targets. However, if councils are forced to sell off more of their homes we may never reach the thousands of young people on our housing waiting list. Local authorities must play their part, but the government needs to work with London local government to address the housing crisis and to mitigate the impact on future generations.