The report was written by housing academic Professor Steve Wilcox and published by the CML and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).
It reveals that back in 1990/91 the combination of welfare benefits, tax reliefs, grants and subsidies to homeowners totalled around £9.3 billion. But by 2002/03 this had dropped to just £933 million - a 90 per cent reduction.
By contrast, benefits and subsidies for social renting rose from £6.3 billion to £10.8 billion over the same period - a 71 per cent increase. And support for the private rented sector rose from £1.5 billion to £3.2 billion - a 113 per cent increase.
Homeowners now receive just 6 per cent of the total help with housing costs. The review observes: “Given that half of the poorest households in Britain reside in the owner-occupied sector it is reasonable to question whether this is an appropriate balance of provision.”
CML deputy director-general Peter Williams commented: “We have known for years that half the poor are homeowners. Yet the framework of assistance directly discriminates against them.
“The lending industry works hard to make homeownership as sustainable as possible but there is no question that poor homeowners are disadvantaged compared with tenants at similar levels of income. This requires policy attention.”
John Perry, director of the CIH, added: “Too often the position of homeowners is overlooked in the housing policy arena.
“With homeownership now accounting for more than two-thirds of the households in the UK, it is inevitable that poverty problems can be experienced among those who own as well as among those who rent. This description of the dramatic nature of the reduction in support should give policymakers pause for thought.”
