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Housing Solicitors

Shelter calls for MPs to “roll up their sleeves” and build more affordable homes (26 June 2014)

Date: 26/06/2014
Duncan Lewis, Housing Solicitors, Shelter calls for MPs to “roll up their sleeves” and build more affordable homes

Research by homelessness charity Shelter has revealed that 80% of homes for sale in the UK are beyond the means of the average working family.

Researchers for Shelter found that across the UK, fewer than one in 10 homes was affordable to working families – 82.1% of homes with either one or two bedrooms were too expensive for those earning an average income for the area they lived in. Even families able to afford to save for a deposit on a home were priced out of the property market, Shelter found – and 88% of homes were unaffordable to those hoping to buy a home with just a small deposit involving a 95% mortgage.

The government’s Help to Buy scheme enables first-time buyers to put down small 5% deposits on properties up to a value of £600,000.

However, in London house prices last year rose by nearly 18%, while across the UK the average increase in house prices was 9.1%.

Last week, online estate agent Rightmove reported a small downturn in property prices across the capital, involving an average fall of 0.5%.

However, Shelter has found that across the UK, a shortage of properties to buy is resulting in many would-be homeowners missing out on the chance to secure their first home.

Shelter researchers collated figures from 83 Local Authorities on the number of homes available for sale in their area. The total number of Local Authorities investigated by Shelter represents around one-quarter of the UK. In these areas, there were on average fewer than 10 affordable homes for sale for families to buy.

In Cambridge, researchers for Shelter found there were only three affordable homes for sale – and in Brighton and Hove, there was just one.

In 14 local authority areas investigated – including the London boroughs of Ealing, Lewisham and Slough – Shelter found there were no affordable homes for sale at all.

In Exeter, just 1% of available homes were affordable to a typical family – a total of eight homes out of a total of 553 for sale were deemed affordable by Shelter.

In South Lakeland in the northwest of England, just 4% of homes on the market were affordable – a total of 43 out of 1,069 properties for sale.

The chief executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, said:

“When a family looking to buy their first home searches a whole town for a place to live and finds nothing they can afford, it's clear we’re not just facing a housing shortage any more – it’s a full-blown drought.

“Our failure to build more homes is leaving a whole generation of young people with no choice but to remain trapped in expensive and unstable private renting – or stuck in their childhood bedrooms for years to come, no matter how hard they work or save,” he added.

“What we need right now is for politicians to roll up their sleeves and make stable homes for the next generation a top priority.”

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors is a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors and our housing lawyers can advise homeowners on legal matters such as debt and mortgage repossession.

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors can also advise rental tenants on a range of matters, including:

• Disrepair
• Housing benefit
• Housing possession
• Landlord & Tenant disputes
• Unlawful eviction.

For expert help with housing law, contact Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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