Housing policy needs to do more for ‘generation rent’ - The Yorkshire Post says

Not enough homes have been built to ensure that there is sufficient stock and that has resulted in prices rocketing, leaving first-time buyers, in particular, in the lurch. That has given rise to what is now known as ‘generation rent’.

Forecasts from Leeds Building Society that up to 426,000 first-time buyers in England will be priced out of the UK housing market between 2023 and 2027 should be ringing alarm bells across the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

There has long been a need for a holistic approach to housing. Too often policy has been driven by short-termism and local communities tied down by red tape. A local approach that looks at the needs of local communities should be front and centre of housing policy.

It isn’t just about building new homes though. They need to be the right homes, in the right places and at the right time.

No one in their right mind would want to see beautiful green spaces being concreted over.

The country needs to be much more efficient in getting homes that are in disrepair back on the market as well. It would prevent an unnecessary sprawl of housing developments while also speeding up the process of getting young people on the housing ladder.

Future generations cannot be consigned to a lifetime of renting. Some young people are living in a perpetual state of upheaval as they constantly move from one home to another. In turn, it deprives them of the opportunity to put down roots and become integrated in their local communities. Many are putting off having families as a result of a lack of housing security.