Family life delayed by housing cost

One in five people claims to have been forced to put off having children because they cannot find an affordable place to live.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Jan 2010, 19:24 BST
Updated 22nd Jan 2010, 19:24 BST

Around 18 per cent of people aged between 18 and 44 said they actively delayed starting a family because of high housing costs, according to housing charity Shelter.

The proportion of people who are putting off having children soars to 24 per cent among those aged between 18 and 34.

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A fifth of people said they had put plans to have children on hold for up to six years because of high housing costs, while 37 per cent did not think they would be able to start a family for at least another four years.

Kay Boycott, director of policy and campaigns at Shelter, said: "These figures show just how pervasive the housing crisis is.

"Whilst it is responsible to ensure that you can afford to support a new baby, it is completely unacceptable that housing costs are changing important life decisions like starting a family in such a significant way."

The average age of someone buying their first home without financial help from family and friends is now 37, up from 33 in 2005.