The housing crisis is now a national emergency

A lack of affordable homes is blighting the lives of millions and causing a myriad of wider social ills

Photo: flickr / Jon Candy

I was struck by a story in Wednesday’s Financial Times which illustrated the reality of the chronic housing shortage which afflicts our country. I believe strongly that the housing crisis not only causes personal anxiety to the millions who can’t get a foot on the ladder or are paying extortionate rents or living in squalid conditions, but also lies behind so many of our wider ills as a nation.

The FT conducted its own analysis of the situation in England and found that half a million new homes were needed every year to keep pace with the rising population. This figure is far in excess of the government’s current target for England – which Labour has said it will match on average over the next parliament if it wins power – of 300,000 new homes every year.

The analysis explains how, particularly, increases in the levels of immigration have ‘substantially raised the number of houses needed to keep pace with demand’. I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anyone. Let us remember, after all, that the net immigration figure for 2022 alone (the latest recorded year) stood at a staggering 745,000. That these kinds of unprecedented numbers induce profound shocks on an already-strained housing sector is surely undeniable.  

It has always seemed to me the height of negligence on the part of successive governments to have allowed such substantial levels of inward migration without having in place any sort of plan to ensure there is sufficient housing stock to accommodate everyone’s needs.

But, at the same time, we would be kidding ourselves if we concluded that the problem begins and ends with immigration. There are other factors at play, too.

 

For example, I believe – and this is a point that barely ever features in the debate over the housing crisis – that the deeper levels of relationship and family breakdown we experience in these modern times – with separating couples suddenly finding themselves in need of their own accommodation – have also had a tangible impact on demand. But we’re not allowed to talk about that, of course, because we’d be ‘stigmatising’ single-parent families, or something like that.

I think, too – and again this is something that rarely features in the national debate – we need to examine the dramatic way in which finance for house purchase has altered as a consequence of the demise of mutually-owned building societies, and to consider the extraordinary monopoly power of rapacious banks to essentially create money out of thin air for lending on mortgage. This power, which those profit-making banks are, of course, only too eager to exercise, has had the effect of flooding the housing market with new money, and in turn has undoubtedly caused a prolonged surge in house prices. It baffles me that so few in positions of influence have even identified this problem, let alone devised ways to address it.

And, of course, our housing sector is hobbled by the general culture of bureaucracy, officialdom and inertia which does so much to snuff out new projects in this country. The under-utilisation of brownfield sites for example – which, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England, have the capacity to accommodate one million homes – is inexcusable. One can’t help but feel that if this were China we would just get these things done.  

All in all, then, our country has a woeful record when it comes to ensuring sufficient housing stock to meet the population’s needs. As the FT analysis also showed, the number of homes per adult in the UK is lower – in some cases, significantly so – than the figure for many of our European neighbours.

I am convinced that the stress and worry that come with being deprived of the security and stability of living in an affordable home – particularly for someone with dependents – can have a profound effect on an individual’s mental health. How odd that in a society that places so much emphasis on the importance of mental health, almost to the point of obsession, and even to the degree that we try to protect people from hurty words and alternative opinions lest it cause them psychological distress, we pay virtually no attention to the real and lasting anxiety experienced by the millions who are victims of our crumbling housing market. The fear of not having a roof over one’s head or being unable to afford rising mortgage payments is, I would venture, far more detrimental to one’s mental well-being than reading something ‘offensive’ on social media.

The whole dire situation really ought to make our generation of politicians take a long, hard look at itself in the mirror. For it is undeniable that a lack of political will, and not a lack of money or resources, is at the heart of the housing crisis. You wish to doubt it? Then consider this. In 1945, Britain was on its knees and facing an uncertain future. After six years of gruelling war, we were, it was said, no longer the country we were, and could not afford to do the things we wanted to do because, among other things, we ‘couldn’t afford it’.

Undeterred by such cynicism, the post-war Labour government, led by Clement Attlee, built a million council homes, giving countless families the opportunity – for the first time, in many cases – to live in decent, secure and sanitary conditions. And this at a time when the population was considerably less than it is today.

What is needed today is the same bold spirit. We need particularly a massive programme of affordable house building, including council housing. No ifs, no buts, no excuses. Just get it done. Provide to today’s families living in substandard accommodation or unable to afford exorbitant mortgage costs the same opportunity provided to families of previous generations. In doing so, not only would we address the housing needs of millions, but we would be striking a blow for family stability and finances, as well as improving the nation’s mental health.  

And we should have no truck with those who say, as they did in 1945, that we ‘can’t afford it’. There is still plenty of money kicking about in the UK. But, as ever, it seems to be concentrated in too few hands. A wealth tax would bring in several billions, as would a windfall tax on the banks (many of which are posting astronomical profits as a result of the increases in interest rates). We could also bring our top tax rates into line with some of our European partners. Of course, the government could also borrow from the Bank of England to fund a housebuilding programme. But most people haven’t caught up with that idea yet.

Whatever we do, we must do something. Because the lack of affordable housing in Britain serves to blight the lives of millions and engender deeper social problems in a way that often goes unnoticed. A national scandal has become a national emergency. It’s time our politicians recognised it.

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