Three-quarters of British public say there is a housing crisis

Almost three-quarters of people across Great Britain believe there’s a housing crisis and more than half think not enough attention is being paid to it, according to a new poll.

The survey by Ipsos MORI for the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) also shows most people don’t believe the political parties are giving the issue a lot of attention.

The results also show strong public support for more social housing. By large margins, the Great British public thinks social housing is important because it helps people on lower incomes get housing which wouldn’t be affordable in the private rented sector (76% agree) and helps to tackle poverty (68% agree).

CIH chief executive Terrie Alafat CBE said: “These results send a very clear message to the new government. The housing crisis is real, and we are simply not doing enough. It’s clear that the British public supports more social housing.

“On Friday the Chancellor announced he was ‘fast-tracking’ the comprehensive spending review. Here is a golden opportunity for ministers to make the ambitious changes on housing which could start to make a real difference.

“Our survey shows overwhelming support for more social housing, which is why CIH has joined the National Housing Federation, Shelter, Crisis and the campaign for the Protection of Rural England to make clear what the government needs to do to end the housing crisis in England.

“We have called for a 10-year programme to build 145,000 affordable homes a year, with 90,000 of those at social rents. This would cost £12.8 billion a year and would return spending levels to those under Winston Churchill in the early 1950s.

“That programme would unlock billions of pounds of funding from the housing industry and add an additional 120 billion pounds to the economy each year through the creation of local jobs. And much of this could be achieved by rebalancing the existing housing budget, which overwhelmingly supports building houses for sale. In the long run, investing in social housing offers great value for money.

“The housing crisis is an economic, social and human catastrophe. But it can be solved. There is a solution; a solution that would add billions to our national economy and help millions of our fellow-citizens.”

The survey shows:

73% believe there is a housing crisis in Britain – and 67% think that the government can do something about the country’s housing problems

57% think that the rising cost of housing will impact them personally a great deal or a fair amount in the next five years – 56% say the same of ‘Brexit’

Overall 55% of the public, and 68% of renters, think housing has been discussed too little in Britain over the last few years

52% of people support the building of new homes locally, up from 40% five years ago

The survey finds a downbeat mood among renters in particular:

45% of private renters and 43% of social renters are concerned about their ability to pay rent at present (29% of mortgage holders are concerned about repayment)

Of those renting or living at home with their parents, 61% think they will never be able to afford to buy a home

More than a third of private renters, 38%, worry they’ll have to leave their local area because of the unaffordable cost of housing

36% of people in London, whether renting or buying, are concerned they may have to move because of the cost of housing; nationally the figure is 22%

Terrie Alafat added: “We support the aspiration of those who want to buy their own home, but for many others, home-ownership is either not an aspiration or not an option. We need to make sure everyone has a place to call home, and this survey reinforces what we’ve been saying for a long time - for too many people housing is simply unaffordable.

“This survey shows that people believe the government can and should do something about the housing crisis. We have given the government a solution: a solution that would add billions to our national economy and help millions of our fellow-citizens.”