42% of Brits are anxious over the possibility of being stuck with renting for the rest of their lives
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has released a report that declares England as the worst place to find a home in within the developed world.
The report found that a large number of Brits lived in substandard properties in comparison to the average within the European Union (EU). A study by Cornerstone Tax further showed that 42% of those living in England said that being stuck renting for the rest of their lives was their biggest anxiety.
What is currently happening with England’s property market?
HBF’s report further found that England had the lowest percentage of vacant homes per capita among all the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This group consisted of 38 nations which included most of the EU, the US, Japan, and Australia.
England’s low supply of vacant homes can be linked to previous governments failing to fulfill their pledges of building more homes for the past two decades. In the Affordable Homes Programme, the number of houses that were built in 2016 were 9,000 fewer than initially planned. This number was put at 32,000 in 2021.
An estimated 340,000 new houses are reportedly now needed to be built annually to meet the demand.
"We are currently experiencing a chronic undersupply of housing in the UK due to the failed promises year on year by government's past and present to build new homes,” said David Hannah, group chairman at Cornerstone Tax.
“A continuation of this will mean that housing will become even more unaffordable. This comes amidst the fluctuation of mortgage rates, and now, first-time buyers will likely need help from family finding an available property which they can afford – if they are fortunate enough to have that financial support.”
The lack of new affordable homes in the UK brought more pressure to renters as the low supply and increasing demand had caused a quarter of private renters to be troubled by housing costs. According to data from the OECD, renters were spending more than 40% of their income on rent while this rate was only 9% in France and 5% in Germany.
"We have now reached a point where the market is so strained from lack of stock - those renting or looking to rent are entering a highly competitive market, as many are willing to compete and outbid on rent prices,” said Hannah.
Hannah believed that the high cost of rent was because of the government changing its building pledges as well as the increase in red tape on rental properties, leading to many landlords leaving the rental market at a time when they could boost housing supply.
“This is turning into a dire situation which requires urgent intervention from the government to ease the pressures which people are facing across the country,” said Hannah.
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