78,000 children are living in temporary accomodation
A recent but little-noticed interim report by the London Housing Commission, published by the IPPR, offers a fresh reminder of the dire state of housing in London at the start of 2016.
What we call the housing crisis – rising rents, not enough houses, a property price boom – is having a profound affect on the lives of people trying to survive in one of the world’s premier cities.
House prices are now 44 per cent higher than they were before the financial crisis of 2008, with the average deposit for a home at over £70,000.
Meanwhile, rents continue to dwarf incomes, with weekly pay increasing by a mere 2 per cent, while rents have grown by 16 per cent in the past five years.
Home-ownership has also fallen over the last decade by more than 10 per cent, from 39 per cent to 27 per cent.
The report highlights the need for 500,000 new homes over the next decade, after just 194,000 were built in the last one. Public investment in new homes fell by a staggering 60 per cent per household between 2011 and 2015.
As of right now, 50,000 households are currently forced to live in temporary accommodation, including 78,000 children.
Lord Bob Kerslake, chair of the commission, said:
“the social and economic fabric of the city is being damaged by our dysfunctional housing market.”
Meanwhile, as Left Foot Forward has reported, homelessness in Britain is up by a third since 2009 and demand for emergency food remains shamefully high.
The London Housing Commission’s final report will be published in March ahead of the London Mayoral Election.
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17 Responses to “House prices in London are now 10 times the average salary”
Selohesra
Problem is not enough houses – or put another way too many people. Net inward migration of >300K pa can’t help
Jacko
This is the fault of the last Labour government and their program of mass immigration, when immigration ran at 500% of the levels since the 1950s. Between the last two censuses, the population of London rose by 12%.
Cole
So how’s the Conservative government doing getting down those immigration numbers? Going well, I see.
David McKendrick
So if houses in London are so expensive why don’t all the people who can’t afford to buy houses just move out of London?
Woo11
nothing top do with Thatcher selling off the Council houses then? or the investment buys that stand empty, or indeed the housing bubble in the national economy!