Two thirds of people in Britain think the housing market is unfair and just 18% think the government has the right policies to solve the country’s housing problems – a survey has revealed.
The survey by Ipsos MORI for the Chartered Institute of Housing also showed 74% of people believe there is now a housing crisis in Britain, and while only 18% think the government has the right policies, 69% think there is something governments can do to deal with the country’s housing problems.
The results of the survey of 2,195 adults across Britain were revealed at Housing 2017, Europe’s biggest housing conference. It also showed that 67% of people think it is harder for them to buy or rent a home than it was for their parents’ generation and 80% think it will be even harder for the children of today.
Terrie Alafat CBE, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “It is very clear that the vast majority of people now feel that there is a housing crisis in Britain and that there is significant concern about the government’s response.
“Though this is very worrying it isn’t surprising. We haven’t built anywhere near the 250,000 homes that we know we need every year for a long time and it is clear we desperately need more high-quality homes that people can afford.
“The last government committed to solving the housing crisis and outlined some encouraging proposals to build new homes for sale and rent that people can afford in its manifesto.
“Our analysis has shown that just £8 billion of the £51 billion of funding earmarked by government for housing up to 2021 will directly fund affordable housing.
“We now need the government to address this imbalance and deliver on its promises as quickly as possible.”
Other findings from the poll revealed private renters were the most concerned about the cost of their housing. Some 76% of private renters said the housing market is unfair compared to 65% across the wider public. Similarly, 52% are concerned about their ability to afford the cost of their housing compared to 27% across the wider public.
Meanwhile 56% of private renters reported a great deal or fair amount of stress being caused by housing costs compared to 33% nationally.
And 44% think they might have to move from their area in the future because the cost of housing is too high, compared to just 23%.
